


Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: Slytherin Style.

by BeccaBluejay



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Hogwarts First Year, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Rewrite, Slow Build, Slytherin Harry Potter, Tags May Change, Threats of Violence, slow to start
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2020-05-20 19:25:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 53,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19383202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeccaBluejay/pseuds/BeccaBluejay
Summary: When Severus Snape collects Harry Potter from Privet Drive in place of Hagrid, he expects a pompous, conceited boy filled with selfish notions of being the Chosen One or the Saviour. When he finds a neglected  little boy instead, he doesn't know what to do. That's when he makes the decision to take him in and look after him. How hard could it be?(Mentions of violence and hints of abuse but nothing in depth. I obviously do not own Harry Potter or its franchise. Do you really think Drarry wouldn't be canon if I did own it?)





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This was a while coming, apologies! But it's here! . Also, WARNING: mentions and references of child abuse (no sexual abuse) and some violence so If you're sensitive to those subjects please don't read!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 3 April 2020

 

Number four, Privet Drive was prided on by  most of  its occupants for its utterly unremarkable appearance. Not one blade of the lush green lawn was out of place, not one sky blue or dusty pink petal wilted on the perfectly pruned hydrangeas despite the abnormal heatwave.

That's why the sight of a long haired man in dark billowing robes of the blackest night standing on the lawn of the ordinary house caused the curtains of the neighbouring windows to twitch, beady hawk like eyes glimmering through the dainty white eye-lace.

Severus Snape glared in contempt at the house with a derisive sneer curling at his lips.  Of course,  Petunia would live in such a place, he thought. He trod on the well-kept greenery up to the ordinary black door. His uncommon attire snapped around his ankles as he crossed the grass briskly. The Hogwarts professor was determined to get this over and done with so he could go back to devising the most horrible lesson plans he could imagine for his unfortunate students.

He rapped sharply on the front door. Snape huffed in aggravation as the seconds ticked by agonizingly slowly while he waited for someone to answer the door. The day was unusually hot for England in early August, a heatwave haven hit earlier in the week suddenly and unexpectedly.

Despite looking unruffled, Severus felt suffocated in his teaching robes. But his feet didn't move from the concrete step they stood on. He rationalized his lack of movement with the fact that Albus asked him to check up on the brat since Hagrid was indisposed.

The door finally swung open into the blissfully shaded hallway of the house, moving Snape's increasingly deepening scowl onto one Dudley Dursley, freeing the poor door of his splintering glare. Snape now knew what had taken him so long to get to the door. His dark scrutinizing eyes roamed over the Hulk of a boy in front of him, zooming in on his wobbling chins and massive frame that took up most of the doorway. He surmised tha t it must be Dudley .

 Dudley's tiny eyes squinted even more as he frowned at the glowering man. "Who are you?" He demanded rudely before taking a chunk of the giant ice lolly clutched in one meaty paw.

"I am here to see Harry Potter." Snape drawled. His lip curled up in disgust at the name. He already knew what he would encounter; a carbon copy of Dudley with an ego almost as big as his father's, inflated to match his physique with cocky, attention seeking notions of being the 'Chosen One'.

 Dudley froze, his piggy eyes widening dramatically, a slight glimmer of fear shining in their dark depths before his face set into that expression of grim, taunting resolve only children can make. "MUUUUUM!" He yelled.

The bony body of Petunia Dursley came hurtling out of the living room immediately at speeds thought of being impossible for the prim and proper woman.

 "What's wrong  Diddums ? Tell Mummy." She simpered pathetically. She spared no glance for the extremely irritated man still standing in her doorway. Dudley cast a smug look at Snape before pointing at him.

"He's looking for Harry." He announced. Petunia finally looked up at him in polite irritation. Her pale eyes widened in recognition. 

"You!" She uttered an involuntary shriek. One thin hand flew up to her open mouth as the other latched onto the sideboard for support.

"Petunia." Severus bit out as Vernon came thumping along to join the menagerie crowding the entrance.

"What's going on?" He barked. His piggy little  eyes,which  bore such a strong resemblance to the mini-Vernon at the head of the trio, bugged out of his head when he locked onto Severus. His face turned puce at the sight of the wizard robes. 

"Who-who is this?!" He bellowed angrily. 

"This is him. Lily's friend." Petunia choked out. "I thought he was in prison." Vernon rumbled in confusion. 

"No this is that boy she met when we were kids." She hissed.

"Snape!" She declared in triumph, as if remembering his name was an Olympian feat. Vernon's complexion turned from puce to an even deeper burgundy. Severus idly wondered if he would  implode.

Dudley  looked between each parent in worry, anxious that his threat of calling his parents didn't work. "M-mum?"

"Go into the sitting room Dudley." Vernon snapped. He was taken aback at his father's tone, disbelief written clearly on his face.

He  couldn't  comprehend the sharp tone his usually doting parents took with him. One quick nod from his mother had him scowling and waddling back into the living room, already plotting to take his anger out on his cousin. Plotting is probably too kind a word, Dudley's brain probably  wasn’t  even capable  of  thinking hard enough to plot. 

"Leave my house now." Vernon hissed as soon as his son was out of earshot. "We don't want your kind here."

Snape sneered in distaste. "Don't worry, I shall not remain here any longer than in necessary." He droned, thinly veiled hatred dripping from every syllable he uttered. "I'm merely here to see Harry."

 Vernon seemed to swell up before him with righteous  anger,  but his wife flew off the broom handle before he did. 

"He is not going to that freak school!" She snarled in a burst of ferocity. Her thin body trembled with the effort of curtailing her emotions. Vehemence exuded from every pore in her body, creating an even tenser atmosphere as the malevolent auras of each person in the small triangle mixed to form a suffocating bubble of impetuosity and hatred.

Snape  tsked  and pulled out his wand, pointing it discreetly at the now terrified adults. "I'm sure you know what this is." He said softly, a glimmer of something dark and wild in his narrowed eyes. 

Petunia gasped in horror and latched onto a constipated looking Vernon. Feeling affronted, but unable to do anything about it, the man's veins looked ready to pop out under the stress of biting his tongue. Severus took a step forward and the Dursley's  scrambled back  from him.

They crowded up the stairs  to  stay as far away from the menacing man as possible while  keeping  an eye on the innocent-looking stick in his pale hands. Their paralyzing fear of what they simply could not understand left the couple frozen on the stairs without any regard or passing thought for their son's safety. Their fear and hatred  were  so consuming it left room for nothing else.

Snape strode purposefully through the living room, sparing only a cursory glance around the room. He ignored the petulant Dudley wedged into the  armchair  and shoved open the pristine kitchen door harshly before halting as quickly as he burst in. 

Harry stared up at Snape fearfully, Lily's exact emerald eyes almost covered by his unruly black hair and wide like those of a deer frozen in headlights. Snape could only stare in shock. His previous unfair misconceptions of the child smashed like a mirror into jagged pieces that cut him to his very core.

The little boy in front of him looked to be no more than eight or nine. Baggy clothes enveloped him, drowning his miniscule frame in their numerous folds. The sleeves of his three times too big jumper were rolled up to his shoulders  to  stop them from flopping over onto the too big yellow rubber gloves that reached up to his elbows. 

Severus had a sickening feeling that most clothes would be too big on the poor boy.

His trousers were precariously in place by a belt cinched to an extra hole obviously by someone other than the  manufacturer,  but the legs still puddled onto the stepping stool he stood on. They completely obscured his feet. He quickly drew his small hands out of the soapy water in the sink, whatever dish he had been washing falling to the bottom of the sink with a dull thud. Both man and boy stared at each other in silence.

What seemed like  hours  was only seconds and Severus quickly analysed the situation, recognising the blatant signs of abuse in front of him.  C hanging his demeanour at the flick of a wand  into something less confrontational , he crouched down slightly to match Harry's height. 

"Hello Harry, my name is Severus. I was a friend of your mother's."

At the mention of his mother, Harry  whipped around to meet Severus’ eyes . 

"I'm here to take you to school, if you would like to go." He continued. Harry perked up slightly. His bright green eyes glinted with intrigue behind his messy bangs. 

"School?" He asked. 

Severus nodded. "Would you like to go?"

Harry nodded and cautiously sidled up to Severus, keeping a safe distance between them but close enough so that he could lower his voice. 

"Does that mean I'm leaving the Dursley's?" He asked anxiously, fiddling with the rubber gloves as they dripped water onto his jumper. Severus eyed a welt on his accentuated cheekbone with thinly veiled anger, schooling his features when Harry took a step back.

"I will make sure you never have to come back here again." He vowed. 

Harry beamed suddenly, stunning Severus with his joy.  "Thank you! I promise to be good. I'm really good at cleaning." He added quickly.

Bitterness spread through Severus like a virus infecting him with its malignance. He roused himself from his dark thoughts and stood up stiffly. "Go get your things." He said not unkindly. Harry shuffled out of the room quickly, not wanting to anger Severus by going too slow.

Severus adjusted his robes before striding out of the room quickly. He made a beeline for Vernon who had finally thought of his son and had hurried into the living room. 

The gorilla jumped up from his spot on the couch when he saw the angry man stalking toward him looking as dangerous as a coiled snake; ready to strike his prey. Severus snarled wordlessly, shoving the man against a wall, his wand digging into the fleshy expanse of his throat painfully. 

"I ought to curse you where you stand." He hissed.

"That boy needed the freakiness stamped out of him! I will not tolerate abnormality in this household!" Vernon spat through clenched teeth. Sweat beaded on his large forehead and his eyes darted around as frantically as those of a rabbit caught in a trap. 

Snape sneered, making the older man gulp. "What a shame." He said with a calm tone of voice that sent cold shivers down Vernon's spine. He shoved him away, repulsed by the very sight of the poor excuse of a man. 

Before he disappeared through the  door,  he shot a hex at Dudley. The boy shrieked and clasped his behind where a curly  pig's  tail had magically sprouted. Vernon roared as Petunia burst out sobbing in horror for her poor son.

Snape stood waiting by the front door ignoring the shouts and wails shaking the walls. A familiar mop of black hair peeked out from a cupboard door that Severus hadn't paid any heed to before. Spotting the startled professor, Harry scurried over to him after closing the door carefully behind him. He clutched only a small blue blanket that Severus recognised as the one he had sent to Lily after she had written to him of her pregnancy. 

"Is that all you own?" He asked, swallowing against the tight ball of emotion in his throat  when  Harry nodded. "Why were you in the cupboard Harry?"

Harry looked confused. "I live there." He stated simply. "Aunt says I  misbehave  and that's where  misbehaving  children go." 

Severus couldn't hide the flash of  anger  that crossed his face. Harry waved his hands quickly. "I  don’t misbehave  any more though, I swear! I'm just a bit clumsy. "

A list of harmful potions began compiling itself in Severus' head. "I'm sure you will." Severus said tightly , completely losing track of the conversation in his effort to not curse Vernon where he stood . He opened the door and motioned for him to step out. 

Harry made his way outside tentatively and sighed contentedly when the sun hit his wan face. He breathed in deeply, unaffected by the heat.

"Are you ready?" Severus enquired quietly after a moment. Harry nodded and began to smile when a frown tugged at the corners of his lips. 

"Someone walked on my grass." He said sadly. With a pang of guilt, Severus waved his wand and the footsteps in the short grass immediately vanished. 

Harry stared at him, agape. "How did you do that? What's that stick?" He asked warily. Severus stared at him in a rare show of shock.

"Do you mean to tell me you know nothing of wizardry?" 

Harry shook his head. 

"Hogwarts?"

He shook his head again. 

"Your parents?" 

Another negative shake of his head.

Merlin, Severus was going to kill those muggles.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second chapter! Okay, well technically, it's the second half of chapter one that I had written haha. Hope you enjoy! There are mentions of abuse in here, but it's not too pertinent to the story. I'll put stars before and after the part with the mentions of abuse so you can skip past that part if you'd like. I was also listening to Dear Evan Hansen and Heathers while I wrote this so if there are words from them I apologise!
> 
> Edited 3 April 2020

Severus watched as Harry stared around anxiously at the pristine white hospital beds, all uniform in size and made with military  precision.  His eyes kept flicking around quickly at the new surroundings and his hands fiddled with his now cleaner blanket. Severus had cast a quick Scourgify on it while they were on the Knight  Bus.

He'd learned quickly of Harry's attachment to the small scrap of cloth and had decided to at least try and keep him from getting sick because of the dirtiness of it. In hindsight, the Knight bus was a poor choice of transport. After the first stop Harry had dissolved into a panic attack that was only made worse when Severus had tried to touch him to calm him  down.

Dry tear tracks still stained his skin as he sat rigidly on one of the Hospital Wing beds. His  guarded  eyes locked onto Severus. 

''Harry it's okay.'' he murmured. ''We're merely here to see Poppy. She'll make sure you're healthy and then we can go to my quarters.''

 Harry bit his lip. ''Like a hospital?''

Severus nodded calmly. ''Exactly like a hospital. Have you ever been to a  hospital? '' When Harry shook his  head,  he sighed in  relief,  but he knew that didn't mean that he had never needed to go to a hospital.

The click of the office door interrupted Severus before he could say anything and the two turned to see Madam Pomfrey walking towards them briskly. Her hat was perfectly placed on top of her neatly pinned up hair and her clothing  was  as proper as ever. 

''Well, what do we have  here? '' She asked with a small smile. Severus had sent ahead his  Patronus,  so the  medi - witch  had been expecting them and knew of Harry's  situation . Steeling herself for the task ahead, she  continued . 

''Hello Harry, I'm Poppy. I'm just going to do a  check-up  and then you can leave with Professor Snape. I'm sure you're eager to settle in. I'll just need to wave my wand over  you,  and it won't hurt at all. I won't even need to touch you.''

As she  spoke,  she bustled about drawing a curtain around the  bed,  enclosing all three of them in walls of soothing pale blue. 

''I do need you to take your top off dear.'' Poppy said apologetically. 

At this Harry froze, met Severus' gaze briefly as if to gauge his reaction and drew his jumper off with one jerky movement. Poppy, usually unfazed at the numerous injuries she'd encountered, fell into the unoccupied chair beside Harry's bed. She raised one hand to her eyes and let out a tremulous breath. Severus stayed silent and rigid in his own  chair,  but his black eyes glinted angrily.

***

Scars covered almost every inch of his torso, some short and nearly faded, others long and jagged. They continued erratically down his arms ,  some small and circular, some raised like speedbumps on his skin. His ribs could be faintly  seen,  and his stomach had a slight concave. 

Harry fidgeted on the bed uncomfortably. 

''I'm sorry.'' He whispered. Severus finally roused himself from his vengeful plotting and realised that Harry thought he was to blame for what had happened to  him. Thought that Severus would  throw  him  aside  or something preposterous like that.

***

Harry began to  fidget, and Poppy stood up with a quick warning glance to Snape, moving beside Harry. 

''I'm going to do the  check-up  now okay  love.  Then you can put your jumper back on.'' 

He was beginning to shiver in the cold air; stone wasn't exactly known for its heat conductive properties. Madam Pomfrey waved her wand up his torso to his forehead then back down again on his back where the scarring seemed somehow worse. 

Poppy held her breath for the rest of the examination. When she was  finished,  she summoned a dreamless sleep and a calming drought from her potion stores which, after  some  gentle encouragement, Harry drank r igidly . He drifted off to sleep a few moments later, both potions combined making him so drowsy he couldn't fend off sleep.

Severus covered his small frame with blankets and placed his glasses on the bedside table before following Poppy to her office. The woman smiled at the rare gesture of  kindness,  but Severus pointedly ignored her. 

With a heavy sigh, she sat down at her desk leaving Severus to pace like a caged animal. 

''This isn't going to be easy to hear.'' She warned. 

''Just read the report.'' He ordered shortly. 

Poppy sent him a sharp look but muttered an incantation all the same. Reams of parchment spilled from her wand sprawling onto her cluttered desk. The scroll finally ended and when it did, Poppy slipped on her reading glasses.

'' Alright.  Let's see...extreme malnourishment, we may have to make him do exercises to rebuild his  muscle.  Horrible immune system. Merlin his eyesight his horrendous, those glasses make it worse! Stunted growth due to the malnourishment...'' She trailed off and took off her glasses with a sigh, putting the parchment down on the desk. 

Severus stared at her silently. After a moment of Poppy saying nothing ,  he broke. 

''Well? Is that it?'' He demanded. 

Poppy glared at him. ''Several badly set bones and untreated burns and cuts but they should be able to be fixed with proper care and potions. Even his scars should be able to be treated with a regimen of potions and lotions. ''

She pinned the teacher with a scathing gaze that could rival his own. 

''We don't know his mental  state,  but it is more than likely along the lines of his physical injuries. We can't hinder his recovery and we must help him all that we can.  I t will be hard to help him. It will also most likely be slow going. Can you do that? He seems to already  have some sense of attachment to you, whatever that may be, however I cannot allow you to take care of him if you are not capable. Don't give me that look, we are all aware of your previous hatred for Harry.''

Severus ignored his urge to break her stare. ''I will do my utmost to take care of him.'' He promised sincerely. 

Poppy s crutinised  at him for a minute longer then relaxed. ''Good.  Oh,  and Severus.'' 

He turned to look over his shoulder before he disappeared through the doorway.

''He's not going back there.'' She stated. 

''I will make sure of it.'' Severus vowed darkly.

A small shiver went down her spine and she nodded at him, prompting Severus to leave.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! please comment and kudos, as we say, comments are an author's bread and butter haha. Thank you for reading!!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second update of the week YES! haha decided to update cause I will be VERY busy next week. Monday I have a cooking thing, Tuesday I'm going to a waterpark with friends, Friday and Saturday is similarly packed and to top that off I need to keep up with my Spanish study agh. anyway. Small note: while I have done extensive research, I do not have anxiety and while I know it's different for each person, if i make any ridiculously large error in future chapters please correct me!! hope you enjoy this update!
> 
> Edited 3 April 2020. Side Note: looking back at all these chapter notes makes me vomit at the sheer cheerfulness in my godforsaken words. And how small these chapters are. I apologise.

Severus placed a palm on the cold hard surface of his mahogany door. He waited a beat, eyes closed in concentration, before pulling away and adjusting his robes. With a soft click, the door swung inwards of its own accord. 

Snape glanced at Harry's awed expression with a smug smirk curling at his thin lips as a flash of pride coursed through him. Harry was impressed by even the simplest  magic,  yet Severus felt a small urge to show off. He flexed his hand as a dull ache settled in it; he'd be using  Alohomora  next time though.

He stepped into his quarters with a small sigh.  Throwing  off his robes,  he  reveal ed  a dark navy shirt and black slacks, and let them float over to the coat rack as he strode further into his living room. 

The room wasn't that  big,  but it was tastefully decorated. A brown leather sofa was the centrepiece of the room, grey pillows strewn across it and a gleaming wooden coffee table sat in front of it on top of a dark green rug. 

O ne wall was entirely covered in towering bookshelves that almost overflowed with books that were neatly arranged on the light shelves. Windows ,  charmed to reflect the grounds ,  let in enough light for it to be refreshingly  bright  and a door on the other side of the room, opposite the bookshelves, led into the roomy kitchen.

Severus stood purposefully in the middle of the room and. .. was  at a loss. He didn't know what to do which was unusual for the usually collected man. It left him feeling strange and unsure. 

He had spent years tending to his hatred for James and people in general, and when Lily had sent him word of her  pregnancy,  he couldn't help the small seed of hatred for James's son that had planted itself in him. He had successfully established his reputation as a spiteful dungeon bat  while at Hogwarts.

In short, Severus Snape was not a people person. And yet he had destroyed his reputation in front of Poppy in mere seconds and had essentially cast himself in the  mould  of Harry's guardian. Severus glanced at the young boy that caused him so much more inner turmoil than usual. 

Harry's thin fingers picked at his blanket  to  soothe his anxiety and he bit his lip, worrying it to ribbons. The sudden and permanent change in surroundings had him on edge and the  strangely kind  treatment from both Poppy and Severus left him confused and off-kilter.

Seeing Harry's unease, Severus turned and crouched down into the same position he had held in the kitchen. He hoped that being on roughly the same level would make him seem less intimidating. 

''This is where I live for the duration of the school year and where you will be staying until the start of the year, if you would like. Be aware that if you would like to stay elsewhere, that is  acceptable  as well.'' He said carefully and concisely. 

Harry shook his head.

''I want to stay here. Please.'' He added in a much quieter tone of voice. His shoulders  were  tense,  and he  kept his gaze lowered , his messy black locks obscuring his unusually bright eyes. ''If that's okay.'' He mumbled.

Harry’s decision  surprised  Severus but he made no comment. He stood up and nodded. 

''Follow me please then.'' He gestured for Harry to follow him as he started towards the short corridor that led to the rest of his household .  He pushed open a door at the end of the hallway and stepped aside, allowing Harry to see into his bedroom. 

While Harry was in the Hospital Wing, Poppy had eventually kicked him out with a sharp comment about him needing a shower. He had been grateful for the time to himself, although he'd never admit it. It enabled him to wrap his head around the realisation that he was now responsible for a child  and  allowed him to forge a plan.

It was easy to get Minerva to add a new room to his quarters. After that, one long trip to Diagon Alley that left a poor store clerk almost in tears ensured that he had everything Harry would need. Or possibly need. He may be intelligent (as Head of Slytherin how  could he  be anything else?) however the needs of a child  weren't  exactly something he knew. 

He knew how to make them cry but he doubted that a  three-foot-long  essay would have helped him.

The room itself was  big . The walls were painted a pale blue and against the far wall a small bookshelf was tucked beside a small  potion's  lab. A small table was pushed beside the bed and multiple shelves jutted out of the wall at easy-to-reach heights with toys and books arranged on neatly on them above a small set of  drawers.

Under  a large window charmed to reflect the inside of the Lake, like the windows in the Slytherin common room, lay a large wooden box filled with extra blankets and pillows. A fluffy rug covered the middle of the floor in the middle of the room.

Harry gaped at the sight, astonished. 

''This is all mine?'' He whispered. 

''I wasn't sure of what you would like so if there is anything else you may need, tell me and I shall order it by owl.'' Severus offered. 

Harry stepped further into the room and shook his head. ''I like this.'' He smiled gratefully at Severus. ''Thank  you, Severus .''

The professor cleared his throat. ''You're welcome Harry. It's what any child would need.'' He said. 

A yawn forced its way out of  Harry,  and it was only then that Severus noticed how bleary eyed the young boy was, even after two days of being in the Hospital Wing.

''I believe it's time for you to sleep.'' Severus stated not unkindly.

 Harry rubbed his eyes fiercely. ''Not tired.'' He protested weakly, even as he yawned again. Severus raised one eyebrow and deftly turned down the light green bedcovers, turning back to Harry with his eyebrow still raised. 

''I think you  are. '' His tone was firm yet soft, brooking no argument. Harry climbed into bed eagerly despite his  mild giving out . 

''No pyjamas?'' Severus quipped  but  Harry was so deep down under the duvet that all he could see was an unruly tuft of black hair shaking side to side.

With a small  smile  that surprised even himself, Severus stepped out of the room and, leaving the door slightly ajar, made his way into his kitchen. As the kettle  boiled,  he hoped that Harry would sleep well.

The one night he had stayed in the Hospital  W ing, he had been woken up by a sharp kick to his side and had been met with a thrashing Harry in the throes of a nightmare instead of an attacker like he had expected. It had taken one light touch from Severus to jolt him out of it and another thirty minutes to calm him down enough to get him back asleep.

Severus didn’t want to think about why he had the nightmare. He knew, at some point, he would have to think about  it,  and they would have to talk about  it,  but things were too new and too uncertain  now  to start bringing up sensitive topics.

The shrill whistle of the kettle dragged Severus out of his reverie and a sudden sharp crack had him spinning around, wand raised. 

A house-elf stood hunched over on top of his breakfast bar. 

''The headmaster will be seeing you now.'' He squeaked. 

''Tell the headmaster I am indisposed.'' Severus sneered.

 ''Master Albus be seeing Professor Snape.'' The house-elf insisted in a shrill voice that reminded Severus of nails being dragged down a blackboard. 

''Fine.'' He snapped. ''Get Poppy; tell her I need her to watch Harry while I am with the headmaster.''

The house-elf bowed jerkily and disappeared with another crack. Severus poured his tea with gritted teeth. It appeared he was going to be seeing the headmaster sooner than expected but that wasn't a problem. He had quite a lot to say.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next comes the confrontation between Sev and Albus oooooooo. Hope you enjoyed this, thank you for reading and see you next time!


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I typed this up last week in my spare time so that I could post this week! I am exhausted and it's not even the weekend yet. And I'm gonna be busy today through to Saturday....Me and my introverted self are crying. I do wanna go but my social battery is still semi depleted from Tuesday!! Anyway, enough complaining, I'm sure you don't want to hear about that anymore than you have haha. Hope you enjoy!

Severus stormed through the empty corridors, the epitome of a man on a mission. A very angry man on a mission. The usually merely disdainful man was furious which made his anger  more  terrifying. 

The lit torches on the stone walls cast splashes of red and orange light on the floor  and the  usually bright and cheery light shrouded everything in an eerie glow . T he small snatches of dancing light threw a harsh glare on Severus' face.  They  shadowed the man's features menacingly.

The gargoyles in front of Dumbledore's office tried to stand their ground when they saw him approaching but crumbled under his intense glower, jumping to the side before he even opened his mouth to snap the  childish  password. 

The doors to the headmaster's office opened abruptly . Snape quelled the tittering portraits with one glance before he settled his glare on Albus who sat jovially behind his desk. Snape didn't stop glaring; he didn't have it in him to be Dumbledore's  loyal  lackey at that moment.

Albus' bony hands were steepled in front of his placid smile and his eyes sparkled, like sunlight glinting off a clear lake on a summers day. Oh, how this man irritated him. 

''You asked for me?'' Severus droned, cocking one eyebrow disdainfully. 

'' Yes,  indeed Severus. I believe Pip sent for you, did he not?'' Albus chuckled. ''Please, take a seat. You too Minerva.'' He added.

McGonagall appeared suddenly from behind a set of burgundy curtains that hid some of Albus' more dubious trinkets. The suffocating sense of an ambush surrounded Severus as Minerva took the offered seat with a brisk nod. 

A spear of irritation lanced through Severus. 

Albus leaned forward, fixing them both with his kind yet piercing stare. 

''I  received  a letter from Petunia Dursley earlier today.'' He began. ''It seems that you thought fit to remove Harry from the care of his able guardians, Severus, and failed to neither consult nor inform me.'' His gaze turned doleful. ''Why didn't you come to me?''

Severus pinned Albus with his relentless glare. ''Why didn't you take Harry out of that abusive household sooner than I  did? '' He countered coolly. Inside his anger was writhing and eager to be released despite his derisive demeanour. 

''Someone would almost start to believe that you didn't care about his  well-being.'' 

Albus' eyes flashed dangerously but remained deceptively calm, like the sea before a raging storm

''I had no idea of his treatment until now Severus.'' He protested.

Severus stood up sharply,  his chair screeching behind him . ''I don't appreciate being lied to, Albus.'' He  said sharply . ''You checked up on him, you told me time and time again that he was alright, you let me believe that he was alright! Even after my promise to Lily.'' His voice rose as he neared the end of his tirade and the air crackled with  tension .

''I never saw him personally Severus. I always got my reports from Arabella, you know that as well as I do. And you know how unpredictable accidental magic is, he most likely had  glamours  up around anyone but his aunt and uncle.'' Albus said in a warning tone. 

He righted the chair with a wave of his wand and Severus took the thinly veiled hint. He sat down, falling silent, but both he and Albus knew that the silence was temporary. Dumbledore sat back and clapped his hands with a heavy sense of finality. 

''While it is perfectly acceptable for Harry to stay here until the start of term, I have assured Petunia that her nephew will be back safe and sound when the school year ends.''

''Absolutely not.'' Severus  protested .

 Albus took in a shallow breath at the interruption. His usual easy smile was  strained,  and his glasses glinted though there was no direct light for that to be possible. Severus held his ground, not breaking eye contact and resisting the strange urge to bare his teeth. 

''He is not going back there.'' He announced almost dismissively.

''Now Severus, his protection can only be upheld if he stays with his relatives. You must know of the  Fidelius  charm Lily cast on Harry  upon her sacrifice . Surely you want him to be  safe.  You wouldn't want Lily's  last  wishes to go unfulfilled, would you?'' Albus looked affronted, as if the thought was an insult to himself.

Severus clenched his jaw tightly, biting back the words that wanted to be yelled at the headmaster. The blatant manipulation was  ridiculous,  but Severus couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted to. ,  D espite him knowing how bad it would be if Harry was sent back there , a small piece of doubt niggled at him . 

Albus smirked in  veiled  satisfaction  and adopted a pleading tone . ''See? That's why he must go back at the end of the school year. It will be good for him.''

''No Albus.'' 

Both men turned to Minerva in shock. Neither of them could  believe  that the Deputy Headmistress had just spoken against the Headmaster so sternly. Albus was especially thrown off. 

''What-Minerva-you can't-'' He struggled to regain the surety he had before. 

Minerva had stayed unusually silent throughout the exchange between the two men, analysing every word and gesture. Now she spoke quickly and  concisely  in what Severus recognised as her 'teacher voice '.

''You speak of protection, Albus, but we all know he is safer anywhere but at the hands of the Dursley's. Why, Severus is more capable of taking care of a child than those monsters.'' She expressed with a slight scoff.

Albus spluttered indignantly. 

''Don't try to deny it Albus.'' She crossed her legs, somehow stopping any form of  argument  with that small movement. 

The only sounds were the whisperings of the few portraits not pretending to be asleep. Even the whirr and occasional beep of Albus' contraptions and trinkets had stopped. 

Severus nodded towards Minerva slightly as Albus struggled with the fact that he was now outnumbered. The conflict was clear in his eyes; their usual clear blue was now akin to a tumultuous  grey blue . Eventually he twisted his lips into a pained smile.

''Of course. No, of course you're right. My apologies Severus. Sometimes we old men can be a bit stubborn.'' He chuckled. Nobody laughed. Albus' smile fell and he fidgeted awkwardly in his seat. 

''I shall  write to Petunia and notify her of the change in arrangements.'' 

Snape stood up swiftly. ''If that will be all Headmaster.'' Without another word from Albus ,  Severus turned abruptly on his heel and left in a flurry of black robes.

****************************

Night had fallen and all apart from  Ms. Norris , the owls and Albus Dumbledore were asleep. The Headmaster sat motionlessly at his desk. The only sounds were the incessant whirring, clicking and occasional faint whistle from his strange curiosities that crowded the shelves and  tabletops . 

Albus sat with his eyes closed, lost in a labyrinth of thoughts. Suddenly he let out an angry huff and his eyes snapped open, paralysing in their anger.

''They've ruined it all.'' He grumbled. 

In one deft movement he opened a drawer in his desk, plucking out the contents and placing it on a sheaf of parchment. The small parcel was unexceptional. The packaging was grubby and crinkled, held closed by a dirty piece of string, yet Albus stared at it as if it was the most coveted thing in the world. His gaze was hungry but wary.

He sat back in  his hard-backed  chair and eyed it contemplatively. 

''It could be fixed...'' He mused. ''If I merely...tweak my approach then it is possible to continue.'' He stroked his beard idly. 

''It can be fixed. I shall just have to speed things up a bit.'' Albus grinned smugly, obviously pleased with himself as he seemed to puff up like a content mother hen. Moving  quickly,  he shoved the curious package back into the drawer and tugged a single piece of parchment towards decisively. 

With a slight  grin  playing at his lips, he began to write languidly. He had all the time in the world now after all. Everything was fixed.

_Dear Molly..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just noticed that there's spaces between various question marks or full stops and the end of sentences. I apologise, I didn't notice it before and while I'm probably going to fix it, I'll do it some other time when I have the patience haha; Sorry about that! Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed and see you next time! Please comment or kudos whichever and thank you so much for the amazing reception of this fic so far!!!!!!!!! Love you all!!!! I'm just realising that I use way too many exclamation marks....oops.
> 
> Edited 3 April 2020 Side Note: Why. Why. So. Much. Goddamn. Cheer? I mean, yes, the reception has been amazing but really, was there a need for so many exclamation points? And why do I keep saying haha?!


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not very happy with this chapter as it's a bit rushed. A bit? A lot rushed. But I hope you like it and i'll definitly update a better one next week. I was unexpectedly busy Wednesday through to yesterday hence the late updat and rushed update. Thank you for reading! leaving the notes here as I'm too tired to write an end note.
> 
> Edited on 6 April 2020.

The potions lab filled with billowing grey smoke as Snape added powdered  gurdyroot  to the simmering yellow liquid, an acrid stench slowly rising  with  the smoke. Harry sat in the corner of the room on a transfigured stool with his  first-year  potions textbook on his lap. 

He showed an avid interest in learning new things  and, to  Severus' delight, particularly enjoyed Potions. The grumpy professor couldn't help feeling the urge to gloat over Potter's son being affluent in Potions. He got it all from his mother of course.

Against most odds, Harry had settled in surprisingly well to life at Hogwarts. He had had a bit of a hard time meeting the other professors but now he usually spent time with Minerva or Flitwick if Severus needed to 'talk' with Albus (got called upon). 

After a week of being in the castle, a routine had established itself. Most afternoons were taken up with mini  lessons,  so he didn't fall behind in class during the school year and the evenings were for relaxing with any hobbies Harry had which included reading, with the mornings reserved for muscle building exercises.

Severus stirred the potion clockwise, lost in thought. Despite Harry being at Hogwarts almost a week, Albus hadn't done anything. No tricks. No plots. No schemes. Which left Severus feeling extremely paranoid. He knew Albus was up to something, so the lack of interference from the Headmaster had him suspicious. 

''Severus?'' Harry called hesitantly. 

Severus shook his head to break his train of thought and focused on Harry. ''Yes?'' He inquired as he stirred his potion with a small ladle.

Harry fiddled with the edges of the pages as he spoke. ''What doe s this  mean?'' He asked. Severus wiped his hands on a cloth and moved to look over his shoulder; a hard feat when the boy was tucked away in a corner. 

'' Essentially, squish it with the side of the blade .'' He answered briskly. Harry hummed and tugged a sheet of parchment out from under the thick book, writing the definition carefully on the page. 

With more confidence, he spent the next ten minutes flicking back through the pages, asking the  definition  of different words and writing them neatly on the page.

By the time a house-elf popped in to tell them that lunch was ready, Harry had two sheets of parchment filled with definitions and Severus was feeling pleased at the little progress he had made. Harry found it hard to ask for things and while this was only definitions, it was at least a start. 

It showed that he felt comfortable enough to initiate conversation with Severus. While there was a long road of recovery ahead, any small steps were to be celebrated. Harry waved at the house-elf who waved happily back before popping back to the kitchens.

Casting a Stasis spell on the potion with only slight irritation at having been interrupted, Severus made his way to the Great Hall where the other professors were waiting with Harry in tow. 

He stuck to Severus' side talking about a potion he had read about that he thought would be interesting to try that could be educational.  A  roundabout  way of asking to do something, but a  way,  nonetheless. 

When they reached the Great Hall Harry slipped into his seat beside Minerva, smiling at her by way of greeting. He had warmed up to her and  Filius  faster than any other professor and he looked forward to her Transfiguration lessons. She smiled warmly at him and past him his nutrient-replenishing potion before resuming her conversation with Pomona.

''Drink.'' Severus said firmly. 

Harry scowled but drank the potion quickly with a grimace at the taste. Severus nodded approvingly when he set the empty goblet down. Harry brightened, still a bit put out at having to drink the  potion and  began to eat his chicken. 

Severus had learned quickly to give him small portions of various foods because otherwise Harry ate too much of whatever he was given, enough to make him sick. He was so used to getting very little food that his stomach was underdeveloped and Harry had a habit of eating as much as he could. 

Before he could shovel his chicken and potatoes into his mouth, Albus suddenly clapped a hand on his shoulder. Harry froze and his eyes darted to Severus. 

''Albus.'' Severus greeted cordially, staring the shit out of his wrinkled bony hand. Albus chuckled and thankfully lifted his hand from Harry's small shoulder; the child melted in relief and began to eat enthusiastically.  Everyone knew that he wasn’t particularly fond of touch, not used to anything other than violent ones. Of course, Albus  preferred  to ignore that little fact

Albus took his seat in the middle of the table beside Severus. He had been off put by the change in seating the first day he had deigned to dine with them. Instead of his usual place beside Minerva he was beside Severus who had Harry  in between  himself and the Deputy Headmistress. 

Severus wasn't too happy with it  either,  but he was an adult, not a child, and therefore had to suck it up with a sneer. 

''Harry, I've taken the liberty of inviting some guests over that I think would be excellent friends for you.'' Albus said jovially with his usual air of  a  doddery old man. Severus shared a glance with Minerva over a worried Harry's head. Both regards had the same meaning: Fuck

 *****

The wait all day almost killed Severus and Harry to a lesser extent. Finally, in the afternoon, the hurricane came unannounced. Harry was in the middle of his Charms lesson with Flitwick. 

''No, be careful. It's  leviOsa , not  levioSA .'' The small professor instructed kindly. Harry frowned, staring at the  feather in front of him in deep concentration. 

'' Wingardium LeviOsa .'' The feather began to drift upward under the watchful gaze of both Flitwick and Harry. And a discreet Severus in the corner who was 'devising lesson plans'. A small smattering of applause came from the other professors in the room who were 'minding their own business and doing their own work'. 

The door burst open as Albus swooped  into  the staff room and the feather dropped like a stone when Harry spun around in shock. Dumbledore was beaming broadly despite the slight glares from the other teachers. 

''My guests have arrived!'' He announced loudly with joy. With slight resistance, Harry followed the man running the school only after making sure Severus was following close behind. Severus kept a sharp eye on their surroundings as they were led to the lake.  He didn’t need anyone jumping out and frightening the already on-edge Harry.

In the distance a small group of people were standing around. Bright red tufts of hair were the only indicator of who they  were,  and Severus straightened up immediately.  Of course,  Albus invited the loudest, attention grabbing, overwhelming family in the British wizarding world.

He glanced down in pure shock when he felt a tight vice grasp his arm. Harry was gripping onto his arm through his robes as he stared unblinkingly at the strangers milling around by the lake. The entire Weasley family was there apart from Bill and Charlie, the least irritating of the large pack. 

As they got closer and the noise got louder Harry's grip got impossibly tighter. Severus gritted his teeth against the blood stopping handhold on his arm but made no move to pull away.  He couldn’t even warn Harry of what was to come, not with Albus right beside him.

Harry was used to feeling panicky so  when Ron , the second youngest of the family, caught sight of Harry first  and t he over exuberant boy bounded forward, chattering loudly several decibels higher than is usually socially acceptable , Harry only idly noticed the panic .

The rest of  the Weasley family  followed as if led by a string, all of them except the twins who hung back after noticing Harry's tense posture and wide, frightened eyes as they darted around trying to keep an eye on every family member.

The Weasley's surrounded them, creating a loud suffocating bubble of noise .  Ron reached out a hand, still  loudly jabbering something , and grabbed Harry roughly , without recognising the signs of a panic attack.

Harry, however, could tell that an attack was coming on but , already overwhelmed by the sheer  amount of noise ,  couldn’t stop it or calm himself  down.  He began hyperventilating and he tried to simultaneously freeze in place and scramble away resulting in a spasm of restricted movement.  T rembl ing  violently, unshed tears sw am  in his wide doe eyes. 

Severus acted quickly, pulling the boys apart and scooping Harry up in his arms. With a scathing and dangerous glare at Albus and the Weasley's, he spun on his heels and hurried towards the castle, leaving the Weasleys confused and Albus simmering with anger. 

Molly stared in the direction that they had disappeared in and then Albus. ''What just happened?'' She asked . “Is Harry okay? Ronald what did you do?”

The mother hen turned on her son who stood there cluelessly. Ron held his hands out in confusion.

“I don’t know, I just- He was shaking but I didn’t- was I too loud?” He wondered aloud. 

Molly glared at him. “Honestly Ronald, why can’t you be more like your older brothers? They would have noticed something was wrong!” She  sighed in exasperation.  A scowl fixed itself onto his face as he was once again compared to his brothers. And it was all Harry’s fault.

 


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we go! Another chapter update! The reception on the last one was amazing and I am loving the HP hypothesising going on here. I am really excited to continue this cause this is the last chapter before things really get going. Next comes new (yet loved) characters and new plot points. Harry will finally go to school and things.will.get.freaking.going. YES. GAH I'm so excited. Hope you enjoy this update!! Again, I was listening to music while writing this and this is the first chapter that was completely unwritten, so while it was still planned out, it was not fully finished on paper before I typed it so if there are mistakes please tell me and let me know if I accidentally put song lyrics in here. XD
> 
> Edited 6 April 2020

Severus  found himself in the headmaster's office much too much lately for his liking.  He  paced the overly large room, barely restrained anger curdling in his stomach, resembling a volcano about to erupt. Albeit a dark volcano. 

Albus sat behind his desk. He was massaging his temples tensely and contributing absolutely nothing to the situation. The silence was loud and suffocating, hanging in the air like an obnoxious person determined to annoy everyone. 

''How is Harry?'' Albus tentatively tried.

''Sleeping off the anxiety attack you induced Albus! Did you tell them nothing of his condition? Nothing? How did you ever thing that was wise?!'' Severus hissed angrily. The emotion bled into his tone until he was spitting the words as if they were a vile poison contaminating his tongue.

''I couldn't very well tell them that their Saviour is challenged!'' Albus snapped, his nice old man mask slipping to reveal the poisoned persona beneath it. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes fleetingly. ''I didn't-''

''Challenged?'' Severus spat. He slammed his hands on the shining desk, the noise reverberating around the room. Albus met his fiery gaze with one of burning determination. ''He is not challenged Albus. He was abused. He is  somehow dealing remarkably well for someone  emotionally, physically and mentally abused for eleven years.'' 

Albus opened his mouth but Severus got there first. He drew himself up to his full height and stared down at the man with a disgusted sneer curling at his thin lips. 

''He cannot be fixed with a wave of a wand just to be your Saviour Albus. And you will have no say in it anymore because no harm will come to that boy while I am around.'' Without letting him speak, Severus stormed out of the office.

When she saw him, Minerva straightened up and fixed her hat. ''My turn is it?'' She asked. ''Great.'' With that she moved past the potions  professor  who let a small smug smile spread on his face after hearing a muttered ,  ''see what he looks like without his beard now''.

 ****************

Poppy took off her reading glasses with a heavy sigh. She and Severus sat in his immaculate kitchen with steaming mugs of tea sitting in front of them, while a pile of parchment lay in between them on the table. 

''Get me something stronger Severus.'' She ordered and added ''I need to Irish up my tea.'' 

Severus obeyed and came back with his nicest whiskey. Poppy put more than a splash in her drink and took a long gulp before rubbing her head. 

''His scans are better than when he arrived at least. He's gained half a pound in a week and his muscle building is showing signs of improvement. But his immune system is dangerously weakened and I'm afraid if we give him his shots now that he could contract everything at once.''

Severus shook his head. ''We can put him on a daily vitamin regimen and potions to help build him up before we think of doing any medical advancements. His bones are  healed,  and his potions are aiding with the  scarring,  but I agree that any shots would only hinder recovery instead of helping it.'' 

Poppy eyed him as he took a drag from his mug. ''What are you thinking about school-wise? It starts in a week and I don't think Harry is ready to cope with the sudden presence of thousands of children.'' The  medi -witch asked inquisitively.

''I don't know.'' Severus groused reluctantly. He didn't want to be open. He didn't want to admit that he had no idea of what to do, or how to help. Didn't want to admit that he was terrified that the start of term would set back the little progress they had achieved. 

''Therapy sessions?'' Poppy offered. Severus waved his hand, dismissing the idea. 

''He's only eleven and he's still wary around strangers.'' He glared at the table and growled. ''He shouldn't have to deal with this. He's a kid for Merlin's sake.'' He said through gritted teeth.

Poppy tried to be positive. ''He shouldn't have to, no. But this is the hand he was dealt with and we can only hope to make it better and help him through it. He has already made exceptional progress. He's been here a week and he's already tolerant of most of the professors and he sticks by your side like a limpet.'' 

When Severus didn't look convinced, she rolled her eyes and tried harder, going as far as to grasp his pale hand to grab his attention. ''Harry is a remarkable child. Despite all he's been through he's sweet and kind. He was open to forming a bond with you and he is comfortable around us. You've done more than you know just by being a constant encouraging presence in his life. He needs stability and you've begun to give it to him.''

Severus pulled his hand away but nodded towards Poppy. She acknowledged the small thanks and moved on. ''The feast.'' She stated. 

Severus leaned back in his chair, the stiffness that the praise brought on dissolving from his shoulders. ''He needs to have the option to stay at the table with us.'' He mused. 

Poppy  rolled her eyes at his  protectiveness. 'Yes , but I think he needs a friend group to count on. Albus may have gone about it in all the wrong ways but he wasn't wrong in thinking that Harry needs a close circle he can rely on.'' She said.

Severus glared at her mutinously. 

''I'm not saying he was right.'' Poppy scolded with another roll of her eyes and a deadpan glare to match Snape's. ''I'm saying that Harry could benefit from having friends before he gets thrown into the deep end.''  She took a sip of her tea.

Severus mulled the idea over in his head. ''I could introduce him to my godson....'' He began. 

Poppy grabbed the opportunity with both hands before Severus completely dismissed the idea. ''Perfect! A small, calm setting would be perfect and as Draco is a mature enough child, he could be just what Harry needs. Someone who can relate and more importantly, empathise properly.''

''Severus?'' A small voice drew their attention to the door where Harry stood in too big pyjamas, rubbing his eyes that were half covered by his messy  bed hair . Poppy stood up and bustled around the table.

 ''You should be resting chicken.'' She chided gently. 

Harry glanced at Severus.  “I just wanted to say sorry, for earlier. I know Professor Dumbledore wanted that boy to be my friend.” He said  as he scuffed the ground with his feet. Severus straightened in his chair.

''I made a scene. Sorry for being  weird .'' H arry  continued. Harry's shoulders dropped low and he seemed to sag on the spot in disappointment. Poppy sent a glare Severus' way before she gathered her papers and pointedly nodded in Harry's direction. Severus nodded in affirmation and she left with a small wave Harry's way.

He waved back and shuffled further into the kitchen, clambering up onto her vacated chair when Severus motioned for him to do so. Snape leaned over and fixed with a stare. ''You had an anxiety attack, it's perfectly normal Harry.'' 

Harry met his steady gaze  with a tilt of his head . ''Really?''  He asked in surprise.

Severus nodded, heart constricting at the sight of Lily's eyes staring at him with such profound emotion. ''Many people have anxiety attacks. When I was  younger,  I had them too. It doesn't mean I'm  weird , does it?'' He raised one slender eyebrow and Harry shook his head  fiercely . 

'' Of course not !'' He protested. 

''Then why should it make you one?'' Severus countered  with a wave of his hand.  He sat back in his chair with a small smirk. He won of course and while Harry was still computing the logic, he stood up and vanished both mugs to the sink. 

''Now that you did what you came to do, it's time to go back to bed. You need rest.'' He said firmly. Harry didn't even protest as he was ushered out of the kitchen and down the hall into his bedroom. When he was once again hidden under the bed covers  Severus nodded and closed over the door after switching on the little nightlight by the set of drawers. ''Good night Harry.'' He said softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, we done. I had fun with this and badass McGonagall is my love honestly yes woman be angry! ALSO. I have been watching A Very Potter Musical and oh my god if you haven't yet go watch it. It's a fan made HP musical and IT IS THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN EVER. It's on Youtube, just type in A Very Potter Musical. I'm on the sequel now and Lucius is life. Draco in AVPM is amazing! JUST YES. Okay, okay I'm done.


	7. Chapter seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually forgot this chapter existed.......  
> So next chapter is where Draco comes in! But I guess this one is important for character development or something like that. After the Draco chapter we'll move on to the start of school and introducing Quirrell, Hermione, Blaise etc. While I did get a suggestion to include Luna, as much as I love it, she doesn't get to Hogwarts until Harry's second year and I'm trying to stick to a semblance of resemblance you know? Gosh that rhyming. Oh and I am having problems with my internet so I don't know when I can next update. It could be a week, it could be a month. We've recently moved house and our internet is gone. I have to go into town for free wifi hahaha. Anyway hope you enjoy. For those of you confused about the timeline so far, I'll clear it up in the end note.
> 
> Edited 6 April 2020

A quick Tempus showed that it was only six in the morning. Severus sat at his kitchen table with Harry sitting across from him, yawning and rubbing his eyes. 

He had rushed in with his wand drawn after hearing a glass smash to find the small boy standing frozen in the middle of the room with a horrified expression on his face. He had begun to feverishly apologise and had very nearly dissolved into an anxiety attack until Severus had repaired the glass with a flick of his wand and reassured him that everything was alright. 

Now Severus was sipping a strong cup of black coffee and Harry was  devouring  a slice of buttered toast.

''Sorry  about the glass .'' He mumbled  again, almost the fourth time since the incident . 

Severus waved his hand dismissively. ''Harry, I've already told you that it's fine. The incident has  passed,  and you no longer need to apologise. It was only a glass.'' He said. 

Harry looked up at him inquisitively. ''Why didn't you punish me?'' He asked. 

Severus was taken aback by the question that had obviously been swimming around in his head for a while now. He wondered how one could approach the concept of good and bad at six o'clock in the morning with a sleepy  eleven-year-old . It wasn't exactly how he envisioned that  conversation  going but maybe it was good that Harry had brought the topic up.

''The Dursley's always punished me, for stuff that wasn't even my fault sometimes.'' Harry  continued  oblivious to Severus' musings.  “A broken glass would have meant a soapy frying pan to the head.” He  commented casually.

''Harry.'' Severus said firmly, capturing Harry's attention easily. When he had the full attention of his charge he began carefully. ''Your relatives shouldn't have punished you as they did. It is not  a proper form of parenting  and  is  illegal .'' 

Harry stared at him in concentration.  He knew it was unfair whenever the Dursley’s hit him, and he had enough common sense not to bring it up in public. But to hear how wrong it  was  had Harry feeling simultaneously relieved and angry.

''Do you understand?''  Severus  asked clearly. 

Harry nodded haltingly. '' Why did they do it then?” He asked. A sliver of hurt glimmered in his eyes and slipped into his voice. Severus sighed  with a pitiful grimace.

“Only they can answer that Harry. Whatever their reasons, it still wasn’t acceptable for them to do what they did. Only they can explain why, and even then, it won’t be  enough. To them, it was okay. But nothing they can say will help now.” Severus said quietly.

His chest ached when Harry just slumped in his seat. He wished he could tell Harry what he wanted to hear but the workings of Vernon’s twisted little mind evaded him.

''While it will happen occasionally that you will be punished while you are with me, it will not be physical punishment and it will only be if you break the rules or do something exceptionally bad.''  Severus offered, to  stray from the topic of Harry’s aunt and uncle.

Harry sat up straight, ramrod straight, and continued to look at Severus with his older than his years regard. ''Rules?'' He asked. 

Severus sat back and eyed Harry in contemplation. Standing up, he summoned some parchment and a quill and moved around the table to stand beside him. ''I think we should go over the rules. Rule number one: you must obey me. If I tell or ask you to do something or not do something, you must obey me. If it's something you don't want to do you can tell me but if I believe it is for your  benefit,  I will push you. Okay?'' He checked quickly.

Harry nodded and wrote the first rule on the top of the parchment. ''Rule number two.'' Severus continued. ''If you break the rules, you will have something confiscated or you will have a time out. When you are  older,  we will revisit the method of punishment but for now, this is as it stands.'' He added. Harry seemed dumbfounded by the punishments but added the rule to the list without argument. They continued that way until five rules were on the page.

''Also, if you misbehave, you will not get any treats or sweets until I believe you have thought about what you did and are truly sorry.''

''Sweets?'' Harry perked up. His eyes shone behind his worn glasses and a small smile curled at the edges of his lips. His smile did wonders; it transformed his usually sombre expression into a childlike joy and made him seem like the  eleven-year-old  boy he really was instead of someone harrowed and aged by life. ''I never had sweets unless I went to Mrs. Figg but she only had stale cake. It was still good but a bit cardboard-y.'' He said  pensively . 

Severus was once again aghast at his lack of a childhood. ''How would you like to go into Hogsmeade? It is a wizarding village near Hogwarts and has many shops including  Honeydukes  which sells sweets.''

Harry's eyes were saucers; round and wide in disbelief. He looked excited at the prospect of all that Hogsmeade entails but his brow furrowed. ''Will there be loads of people?'' He asked . He’d never been in huge crowds, as the Dursley’s never let him go out too much, so too many people always made him a bit antsy.

''Not as many as there would be on a weekend but if it gets to be too much for you, I will be by your side and you can tell me when it becomes overwhelming. I know a place where no one goes that will be void of crowds.'' Severus assured him. 

Content with the reassurance, Harry agreed happily to the trip and it was decided that after the staff meeting the next  day,  they would go into Hogsmeade. Severus was pleased and the emotion sat in his chest, a rare warmth spreading in him. He hoped that the visit to Hogsmeade would help when it came time to go to Diagon Alley for his robes, books and wand, and help dissimulate Harry's fear of crowds.

*********

All the professors sat around the largest table in the staff room, various files and parchments sitting amidst mugs. The room was obviously used frequently. A fridge and mini kitchen took up one corner of the room and smaller tables occupied the rest of the room. 

Hardback chairs with cushions of different colours and sizes were placed haphazardly around the plywood tables. Cozy armchairs were scattered around the room and clustered around the fireplace where rugs were placed all winter long regardless of the cream coloured carpet already covering the entire floor. 

One wall was made entirely of glass and looked out onto the calm picturesque grounds, letting in ample light which filled the room with cheerful warm sunlight that was replaced by a merry fire in the winter months. The other walls had portraits of varying sizes and mismatched bookshelves crammed chaotically with books; a sharp contrast to Severus' uniform and neat bookshelves.

Harry sat in one of the armchairs as the staff meeting  ended . A small pile of biscuits lay beside him, supplied by McGonagall every few minutes, that he  steadily  munched on. Severus had been keeping a sharp eye on the amount of biscuits consumed throughout the entire meeting and made a mental note to hide Minerva's biscuit tins. He didn't want Harry getting sick after all. 

The atmosphere was relatively relaxed as Albus hadn't bothered to turn up  to turn up to the meeting but h is absence had quickly become an unpleasant topic of conversation as the meeting ended. 

''Something must be done.''  Filius  said factually. The other professors not busy with their own discussions nodded in assent. Minerva let out a snort of derision and folded her arms primly, clearly unhappy with the change of topic. 

''He has become funny in recent years.'' She said.

''Maybe it's time for him to step down.'' Pomona interjected with a sharp nod, her dirt stained hat threatening to topple with the curt movement. She fixed it as she continued with closed eyes. 

''Minerva has been practically running the school for years now.'' Sinistra agree d  and other teachers begin to nod in agreement. Unlike the others who were all in agreement that something needed to be done ,  Hagrid tried to defend Dumbledore.

''Hey now, Dumbledore knows  wha ' he's  doin '. I'm sure this is all jus' a  misunderstandin '.'' He shrivelled under the withering glares of the teachers, Severus especially. His usually unwavering loyalty to Dumbledore was dampened by the  number  of professors outnumbering him on the matter. 

''While your loyalty is...admirable'', Snape sneered, ''Albus has caused enough trouble. Not even you can be deluded enough to believe he still has control over his sanity.''

With that scathing remark the meeting ended. As the professors begin to stand up and leave, Severus called Harry over and began to hand him multiple pairs of gloves, scarves, hats and coats. Minerva stood a few paces away watching the carnage with folded arms and thin lips. 

''Severus, he looks like an explorer ready to face the Antarctic. Get rid of a few layers. He can't move his arms!'' She gestured with her arms and let her hands flop to her sides in exasperation. 

Severus fixed her with a disapproving glare. ''With his immune system he needs to be kept warm and he can't risk getting sick. I will thank you to keep out of our affairs.'' He grumbled. 

Minerva raised one eyebrow in silence, the picture of calm disbelief, with an expression reminiscent of a parent in front of a stroppy teenager. It said really, you're  going to  do  this.  Are  you sure? Are you  sure  you  want to  do this?

Severus held her stare for a moment and, without breaking eye contact, handed Harry another hat. In retaliation Minerva handed Harry another biscuit. War had been declared. 

''I believe we're ready to go.'' Severus declared abruptly. He turned on his heel and strode out of the staff room with Harry waddling out after him. Severus only stopped when they had reached the imposing doors of the Entrance Hall. Harry was out of breath when he caught up with him and Severus removed most of the  clothes  he had piled onto the poor child with only a hint of sheepishness.

 ''Remember what I told you yesterday.'' He said as he plucked a hat off Harry's head uncovering the messy strands of black hair beneath it. ''If it gets too overwhelming tell me and I'll take you to the side until you feel better.'' 

Harry nodded impatiently and Severus' lips quirked up in a half-smile at his obvious excitement to get going. He bowed his head, opening the door with one hand. ''I see you're impatient to get going.'' He said dryly.

''This is my first time going to a wizarding village.'' Harry said by way of explanation as he walked quickly ahead of Severus. ''I  wanna  see everything. Like, everything.'' He continued talking in a rare burst of conversation. While he did talk, it wasn't often. 

He was usually content to silently observe and wasn't much of a conversationalist which suited Severus perfectly although it did perturb the other teachers sometimes. He was a quiet child. It happens. Severus didn't see anything wrong with it  as long as  Harry could express himself when he needed or wanted to.

In the end, Hogsmeade wasn't crowded and the day passed pleasantly. Harry didn't need to be taken to the spot near the Shrieking Shack as Severus had suggested and had fallen in love with  Honeydukes , hesitantly taking up Severus' offer to get whatever he wanted (although he did put his foot down after the second large bag of sweets) and had bought his fill of chocolate amongst other things. 

Fizzing  Whizbees , Bertie  Bott's , sugar quills and some peppermint sweets Severus  was  unfamiliar with ,  comprised most of the haul. Severus had also taken the opportunity to take Harry to get measured for new clothes as the ones he had gotten him in Diagon Alley when he first arrived were a bit too large. 

On the way home Harry munched happily on a Chocolate Frog, content with the day he had  spent. Severus  was pleased that he had managed to make the little boy so happy. He had spent night after night worrying that he wasn't what Harry needed. How could he, someone who couldn't even come to terms with his own emotions or his own past, look after a child? A neglected and abused one at that. 

He had been on the verge of asking Minerva to take over as Harry seemed to get on better with her but  taking away the stability that Harry had found finally would only make things worse. He convinced himself that that was all it was. He didn't want Harry's progress to be set back, it wasn't like he was becoming attached to the boy. However, it was moments like this, when he was happy and relatively carefree, so much like his mother, that it was hard to reassure himself of that fact.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so, timeline. Chapters One and Two are the same day: 13 August.  
> Chapter Three and Four are the same day: 16 August  
> Chapter Five and Six are the same day: 24 August  
> Chapter Seven: 25 and 26 August.  
> So Harry has been at Hogwarts a total of two weeks exactly.  
> That was really hard to do because the chapters don't actually correspond to my timeline because they've all been cut in half! But, this is the timeline. 99% sure.  
> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed and see you next time whenever that is!


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I was listening to a musical while writing this so if there are any lyrics or anything off, please tell me and I apologise, I was probably jammin to the songs. I have fallen in love with Team Starkid guys, it's honestly gotten way too bad. I've watched six musicals in barely three weeks and I'm on my seventh. I literally have nothing else on my mind apart from fanfiction and story ideas. What can I say? The apotheosis has gotten hold of me. Speaking of story ideas I have had an awesome idea for a Miraculous Ladybug fanfic. It's showstopping, really. Anyway, onto the actual story. I hope you enjoy this and I will be going back today and editing previous chapters in order to make them easier to read! I'm working, boys.
> 
> Edited 6 April 2020 Side Note: I'm really glad this is finally edited. I grew to hate how Draco and Harry acted in this chapter and now that it's finally fixed, I can rest for a while. This and how Harry reacted to the Weasley's grated on me so much.

Harry and Severus found themselves in Minerva's quarters having tea with the usually reserved Transfiguration professor. Ever since the talk he and Harry had had about the rules, the little boy had started to become a little bit  bolder  in his actions. 

Whereas before he would be sitting quietly in a chair, unmoving, during their tea sessions which were normally once a week, today he was helping himself to biscuits without his usual trepidation. He was reading a  children's  book that Severus had found in Flourish and Blotts and had started a very serious conversation about the best character in the book with Minerva.

''Why is  Lucy the best?'' She asked him curiously. Harry thought about the question sincerely, making Severus' lips quirk up in a half smile. 

''She's the best  character  because she was brave enough to go into the Wardrobe and she believed in everything before everyone else. She's  nice  and wants to help everyone, even Mr. Tumnus even though she didn't know him. She wasn't scared when she found out that he was a faun or run away because of it.'' He answered after much thought. Minerva hummed. She took a sip of her tea and eyed him in amusement over the rim of her china cup.

Harry went back to his book after taking another biscuit. Severus was proud of him for feeling confident enough to help himself without having to be physically handed the biscuit. Harry had come a long way and Severus hoped that would only continue. 

A sharp knock on the door caught the  professor's  attentions. Two seconds later the door flew open and Draco Malfoy barrelled into the room dramatically with a cry of ''Uncle Sev!''. Narcissa followed closely behind with a slight frown. 

''Draco, what did we talk about?'' She scolded. ''Be calm.''

Draco rolled his eyes but slowed  down,  nevertheless. Harry sat  straighter  in his seat watching the  newcomers,  but he wasn't as scared as he was with the Weasley's, Severus noticed with relief. He had spoken with Harry that morning about the visit from his godson and had reassured him that it wouldn't be like the visit from Ron and his family. That Draco wasn't as loud and abrupt. Usually. 

Narcissa nodded smoothly in Minerva's direction as way of greeting. ''Severus.'' She greeted him amicably. He was an old family friend and the one she could go to if she ever needed anything. Despite having no  children,  he had always looked after Draco excellently and Narcissa was glad that he had chosen to take care of Harry. In her opinion, he needed Harry as much as Harry needed him.

In his letter inviting them for tea Severus had briefly explained Harry's past and his existing trauma. He had outlined his  mild  fear of touch and his general anxiety when it came to sudden loud noises. Narcissa had immediately offered to help Severus. She herself had some experience with children that needed more attention and help than others. 

When she was younger before she married  Lucius,  she had worked with children in a centre for people with what was considered as a mental or physical handicap. Now that she had Draco  however,  she couldn't give all her attention to the job  permanently,  so she visited every Saturday and volunteered whenever she had the spare time.

She smiled gracefully at Harry. ''Hello Harry. My name is Narcissa and this is my son Draco.'' She gestured towards Draco who was explaining his latest Quidditch move to Severus. Harry eyed her warily  but nodded with a polite smile .

 ''Hello.'' He said quietly. 

Still smiling, she spotted the book Harry had placed on his lap when they had walked in.  ''The Chronicles of Narnia? That used to be Draco's favourite.'' 

Upon hearing his name Draco turned and joined his mother beside Harry. He immediately zeroed in on the book. ''Narnia! That used to be my favourite.  When  I  was a kid, of course. '' He exclaimed, oblivious to his  mother's  previous comment. ''But Quidditch is so much better than books.'' He announced seriously.

 He had also been told about Harry's problems, or, at least, the basics about his problems and made a conscious effort to be nice and not speak too loudly no matter how  adamant  he was that Quidditch was better than anything already existing.

Harry stared at the blond boy. His bright green eyes sparkled with intrigue and Severus could see that he was having a hard time believing anything could be better than books. Narcissa took a seat as Draco began to explain the wonderful intricacies of the game to a n increasingly  interested Harry. 

''He seems to be doing  well.  “She  nodded when Minerva offered her a china cup. 

''Yes, he's come quite a long way since he arrived.'' Severus replied. Narcissa added a splash of milk to her tea as Minerva sat back down, only slightly uncomfortable with her new guests. All three adults watched the two boys as they chatted. Harry was a bit more subdued than Draco who was gesticulating in his excitement.

He seemed to be the one talking the most, with Harry only adding the occasional comment or question, but that seemed to be okay for Draco, who basked in Harry's undivided attention. Minerva smiled happily and floated over the plate of biscuits until it caught Draco's attention. 

He grabbed two, handing one to Harry, never stopping his  long-winded  explanation. The adults turned back around to have their own conversation and left the children to their own devices, no one commenting on how Severus kept glancing over at Harry to make sure he was okay.

 *********

Severus handed Harry another towel as he lost another game of  Gobstones  to Draco. The two had quickly become close and Draco had delighted  in introducing various wizarding games. Harry had never heard of many of them, so was extremely excited and intrigued by all of them.  Meanwhile Draco adored having someone listen to him so attentively as he talked.

“Have you played wizard’s chess?” Draco asked once Severus finally turned away.  The two were sitting in the sitting room at the coffee table, the small stones between them. Harry was leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands holding up his head

“No.” Harry replied. “What makes it different to regular chess?” 

Draco leaned in as if confiding something to him and Harry couldn’t help but lean in closer too. “The pieces move.”  He explained. Harry laughed in disbelief.

“ Of course,  they move.” He shook his head and jumped up off the  couch. “Severus  has a board in his office.  Let’s play a game. ” He announced happily.  Draco  stood up quickly and smoothed down his shirt, trying to emulate Lucius’ mannerisms. 

“Let’s go. I can teach you how to play.” He  said . The two ran off quickly, Harry almost tripping over his feet in the process.  Draco stumbled over Harry’s feet and the two fell to the ground. Harry laughed at Draco lightly .

 Draco stared at Harry in astonishment. Yes, he’d fallen over  before,  but it  was the first time someone had laughed at him for it and  the  first time no one had come running to make sure he was okay  even though it wasn’t even classed as a fall, more of a tumble. He burst out laughing as well.

Harry stood up, offering his hand. Draco took it and Harry pulled him up before they made their way towards the office  with a slower pace.

Severus , however,  swore his heart stopped. “Stop running!” He ordered to their turned backs. Harry said nothing but waved a hand behind him as he walked away to ca lm  Severus  down.  While  Severus  was extremely pleased that his plan had worked and Harry and Draco were getting along, and he was happy that Harry was happier than Severus had ever seen him, every time they came even close to injury he had a mini heart attack.

Severus turned around  to see  Narcissa and Minerva  smiling teasingly over the rims of their cups  and laughing . ''I didn't realise he was such a mother hen.'' Narcissa commented. 

''I didn't realise he had emotions.'' Minerva replied casually with a  humorous  glint in her eyes that glittered behind her spectacles. Severus sneered at the two derisively. 

''He can't afford to miss the start of school due to a broken bone.'' He snapped. 

Minerva laughed at his sullen expression. '' Oh,  calm down Severus, he's having fun. And I've never seen him warm up to someone so fast.''

She sipped her tea and Narcissa smiled while Severus acquiesced reluctantly. ''I'm sure they'll be good friends.''  Cissa  said. ''How do you think he'll do in school?'' She asked with concern. 

''With a friend group we're hoping he will be able  to  deal with the crowds.'' Minerva said. 

''Yes, yes, but what about the attention?'' Narcissa pressed. ''He's Harry Potter. He is  The  wizard child. Every child his age grew up hearing about him. Even Draco was excited to meet  him,  and he’s been going through that phase lately where he’s trying to be more aloof .''

Severus frowned. While he knew that Harry was famous, he hadn't imagined that it would have much impact in his life once school started. Maybe a week or two at most and then the excitement would wear  off,  but he couldn't stop the slight worry niggling at him now. 

''I don't imagine it should pose too much of a problem. He doesn't even know he's famous.'' He reasoned. 

Minerva hummed in displeasure. ''You are going to tell him before school starts, right?'' She checked.

 Severus bristled. '' Of course,  I will.'' He huffed. They chatted idly for a while about Narcissa's foray into the world of fashion, Severus' potion research for his second  Master's  degree and Minerva's continuous search for the best scotch in Britain. 

*****

A fter a while Minerva cast a Tempus to find it was almost time for dinner and Narcissa stood up in one swift movement, smoothing down her dress. ''We must get going. Lucius was supposed to organise dinner tonight so I must save the house elves from the terror of Lucius in the kitchen.'' 

All the adults stood up just as the kids  walked  in  looking for more biscuits . ''Draco, we must be going.'' Narcissa said firmly.

She knew how Draco could get when it came time to leave somewhere and had her  no-nonsense  expression on. Draco pouted  slightly . ''Can't we stay longer?'' He begged. Narcissa stared at him with one eyebrow raised. Severus intervened quickly.

'' You will see Harry again on Sunday at the Welcome Feast.'' He said  in an effort to placate the children . 

Draco pouted and was very close to stomping his foot. ''That's ages away!'' He groaned in a whiny voice.

 Narcissa rolled her eyes at her  sons'  dramatic actions that he obviously got from Lucius. ''It's only Friday Draco.'' She reminded him.  Draco huffed and scuffed the ground with his shoe. 

Harry looked equally as disappointed as Draco. His head was hung low, his black locks covering his eyes so no one could see his expression, and his shoulders were slumped.  Draco noticed, and with a scowl towards his mother so she knew he was still displeased, he grinned.

''We can  hang  out some other time.  Maybe you’ll even beat me at wizard’s chess. But no one else has . '' Draco  boasted  in an obvious effort to try and cheer him up. He leaned in close and his blue eyes darted around furtively before he whispered loudly in what was supposed to be a low voice, ''Don't tell Blaise but you're  the best player I know, even for a beginner. '' 

Harry's head jerked up and his hair fell away to reveal a blinding smile. ''Really?'' Harry  asked  incredulously. Draco nodded fervently. Severus would never admit  it,  but his heart melted a little bit at the sight of the happy smile on Harry's face. 

Draco ran over to Narcissa's side, to where she stood beside the door ready to leave. After a moment's hesitation, Harry darted forward and, shocking everyone, enveloped Draco in a quick hug. As quick as it  happened,  he was back standing beside Severus.

The Malfoy heir beamed broadly and left with a quick wave to Minerva and Severus.

**********

Later that evening, Severus still hadn’t gotten rid of that niggling fear that Narcissa had unknowingly placed in him. He didn’t want to have to tell Harry that his parents had been brutally killed and he  had single  handedly  gotten rid of a notorious dark wizard that had plagued the wizarding world for years. Or that he was famous for that reason.

But he couldn’t let Harry go into school without knowing anything and have others explain it in the worst way to him. No, Severus would rather he found out from him and not  from  some fellow  eleven-year-old  too excited to  be meeting Harry to watch his words.

With a sigh, he called him in. “Harry?” 

Harry padded in from his bedroom where he had been reading up on chess. The book was held  loosely  at his side as he sat himself down, cross-legged, on the armchair.  “What’s wrong?” He  asked. He sat comfortably, not rigid or guarded, and gazed at Severus openly albeit quizzically.

“As you will be starting school soon, I felt I had to tell you something.” Severus started but he didn’t know where to begin. He  pushed his hair behind his ear as he searched for the words.

“ Before you were born,  there was a wizard who  was dark.  He did abhorrent things and used his magic to hurt others , using Dark magic no one else dared to . He was called You-Know-Who because his very name i nstilled terror in those who heard it.”

Harry stared at him with wide eyes, engrossed in the tale.

“ He grew an army, gained followers called Death Eaters and eventually terrorised the British wizarding world relentlessly. When you were a baby, he went to  your home. No one knows why, but on that evening, he was stopped by something. By you. Merely a baby, somehow you did what others could not and vanquished the Dark Lord.”

Harry spluttered in shock. “Me?  But  I can’t have done that! I'm- I'm just Harry.” 

“I know it sounds odd, but that is what happened. I  am only telling you this Harry, because you are well known by all wizards. To wizards, you are famous.  I didn’t want you to find out from  other  students and I want you to be prepared for what will happen going into the school year. People will most likely  be  as tonished that you are in Hogwarts.”

Harry shrunk into the  chair;  mind blown. “This is crazy.” He  whispered .  “Will  people follow me like they do to famous people in the muggle world?”

Severus didn’t know what he expected. Maybe surprise or wonder at being famous but instead Harry was  apprehensive. Severus couldn’t help but be  relieved . He would have hated for it all to go to Harry’s head and turn him into James.

“Maybe, but  I  can assure you I will do my best to make sure you are treated normally.” Severus  guaranteed. Harry visibly melted in  relief.  His  shouldered  slumped and he sighed as if he was letting out a breath he had been holding for a while.

“Oh, good . I’d hate to be treated like muggle celebrities. That would be awful.” Harry smiled tiredly and stood up with a yawn. “Is it okay if I go  to bed? I need to wrap my head around all  this,  and chess plays are really boring.”

Severus sent him off with a wave and assured him he’d be along in a second to turn off the lights. When Harry left, he  let out a breath himself. He felt guilty for  omitting  Lily’s  murder,  but it wasn’t the right time to tell him. He had enough with being  told he was famous and known by every man, woman and child in Wizarding Britain.

Another time, Severus vowed to himself as he stood up. He would tell him another time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To any Starkid fans who noticed all the TGWDLM references, I am not sorry. I'm especially not sorry Greg. Or Steve. Or Stu. Or Mark, or Leighton. Or Chad. Gosh five o'clock can't come soon enough. GOLDEN PARACHUTES. I have to stop. Half my readers aren't understanding anything. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading!!


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually incredibly hard to write. Bit of writers block here guys. I'm losing steam fast and I don't know if I'll update next week. I need to plan more chapters too. Which requires motivation, which I'm finding hard to find. Can you guys tell I'm neither a Hufflepuff nor Ravenclaw? Haha. So, no update next week but the week after there will be one. I need to take the time to plan more chapters and actually write them. Hope you enjoy! I was gonna write more but I honestly could not get the motivation up for it. But the plot is gonna go faster now. Harry's first year isn't gonna be so in depth as the previous chapters, only the most important plot points will be in detail. I mean obviously it's still gonna be story, it's just not gonna be day by day. So fear not it will pick up the pace! This was also not proof read. I'll go back and fix any mistakes later.
> 
> Edited 6 April 2020

The next day, Harry and Severus went into Diagon Alley by  Floo . While Severus had gotten Harry his robes and books in Hogsmeade already ,  he still needed a wand. Some may be surprised that Severus hadn't taken Harry to get it  before,  but he simply hadn't had the time.  The time had gone by so fast that it seemed like merely yesterday he had been standing in front of Number Four Privet Drive. 

Harry was  excited to go into Diagon and was waiting impatiently by the fireplace for Severus. Snape rolled his eyes internally as Harry fidgeted in front of the fireplace. He fixed the clasp of his black cloak and grabbed a handful of  Floo  Powder from the pot fixed to the wall, fixing Harry with a stern look.

''We're  Flooing  directly into  Ollivander's .'' He told the jittery child. ''That way we can avoid the crowd of  last-minute  shoppers. It is a bit difficult to  Floo  when it's your first time, therefore you will be  Flooing  with me. To avoid you falling out from the wrong grate.'' Severus explained. 

Harry nodded to show he understood. Severus grimaced but accepted the rushed confirmation and stepped into the large fireplace, making sure Harry had a firm grip of his robes before throwing down the powder and calmly saying '' Ollivander's , Diagon Alley.''

Harry closed his eyes tightly against the soot and emerald green flames. Severus, being more experienced, merely  stifled a smirk  and kept his eyes open until they stopped spinning and the various fireplaces stopped flashing disconcertedly by. 

He slowly brushed the ash and soot from his robes as he stepped out of the grate into the cluttered wand shop. Harry opened one eye cautiously. Severus missed the way his eyes widened behind his repaired glasses as he gazed around at the walls in wonder.

Towering shelves disappeared into shadows as they leaned dangerously over the walkways of the aisles. Dusty narrow boxes were thrown haphazardly onto the crooked shelves and formed misshapen piles on the ground. No one was behind the small desk almost engulfed in boxes and papers. Severus stared at the clutter with disdain. A large menacing shadow formed against the wall and a small man rounded a corner at the end of the shop, waddling with surprising speed towards them. His dark eyes widened in surprise.

'' Oh,  I have been waiting for this day.''  Ollivander  breathed in exaltation. Severus sneered unhappily. He had never liked the old wandmaker. He found him too creepy and menacing for someone who gave wands to young witches and wizards.  Ollivander  was also a staunch Dumbledore supporter  which didn’t help Severus’ opinion of him . 

The man scurried around the desk to stop in front of Harry who stood close beside Severus. Severus could tell that he didn't like  Ollivander  either. It's no surprise.  Ollivander's  face was lined and heavily wrinkled, with his skin papery and waxy at the same time, making it look like melted wax. His mysterious  demeanour  was also terrifying to children.

''Harry Potter.'' He said slowly. He completely ignored Severus who was getting increasingly annoyed at the way he was  obviously  making Harry uncomfortable. 

'' Ollivander .'' Severus greeted sharply. The old man jerked back as if shocked out of his daze. He shuffled awkwardly backwards ,  clearly aware of his overbearing attitude.

''Ah, Severus.'' He said, ill at ease. Severus smiled coldly.  Ollivander  moved some papers around on his desk aimlessly. ''A wand. Yes.'' He muttered and turned around to pull some boxes down off the various shelves behind him.

He shuffled back over and pulled on some glasses, opening one of the boxes and reverently taking out the wand inside it. ''Try this one.'' He ordered. With a nod from Severus, Harry hesitantly took the wand. He stood there  self-consciously .  Ollivander  stared at him over the rim of his glasses waiting impatiently. 

''Well?'' He demanded. ''Wave it!'' Harry started, startled, and waved the wand harshly. All the lights in the shop exploded violently, plunging the trio into darkness.  Ollivander  immediately snatched the wand back. ''No!''

This happened several times more. With the second wand, sparks of fire shot out of the end, making  Ollivander  squawk as his wispy white hair got singed. The third one sent a blast of air down one of the aisles, making the shelves either side of it collapse in a  poof  of dust. Severus and  Ollivander  eyed Harry warily as he carefully set the wand down gingerly on the desk. 

''Alright.''  Ollivander  huffed. ''I have one more and if this works, it will be a very strange thing indeed.''

He disappeared for a moment down one of the aisles still standing and came back carrying a box thinner and darker than the others. The others had all been varying shades of grey but this one was pitch black, as dark as onyx and it made the hairs on the back of Severus' neck stand up. He watched on, becoming increasingly uncomfortable, as  Ollivander  handed the thin wand to Harry. 

''Eleven inches, slightly bendy with a  phoenix  feather core and made of holly.'' The wand maker muttered absent-mindedly.

As soon as Harry's small lithe fingers touched the wood a bright warm light emanated from the wand in an ethereal way. The light spilled from the wand, travelling over the dusty dark piles of boxes and making everything glow in its path. It lit up his body and made him glow slightly before fading away, seeming to retreat into Harry's very being as if it had been coming from his body and not the  wand.

Severus was stunned into silence and  Ollivander  looked like he was about to keel over from lack of oxygen he had been holding his breath that long.

''Amazing.''  Ollivander  gasped in rapture. Severus mentally shook himself out of his reverie and pulled out his drawstring coin bag from within his cloak. 

''How much?'' He asked brusquely. He knew the significance of the wand, knew its history and its  counterpart , and wanted to get out of the cramped shop before  Ollivander  said something without thinking. The old shopkeeper eyed Harry beadily. 

''Fifteen galleons.'' He barked quickly. Severus narrowed his eyes at him but handed over the money. He knew that it was  overpriced,  and he was being cheated out of his  money,  but he just wanted to get out of the shop.

Ollivander squirreled the money away in a small metal box quickly. He opened his mouth, a small speech on the origins of the wand preparing itself in his head, only to close it abruptly when he turned around to find his shop empty. ''Rude.''

**********

The following evening found Severus standing in the Entrance Hall with Harry by his side, as usual. The Potions Master watched the little  raven-haired  child closely. Harry had been quieter than usual that day and more  reserved,  but Severus put it down to the revelation of his past  the night before . It didn't stop him from worrying deep down inside  himself,  however .

But Harry wasn’t quiet at that moment in time.  Harry was practically bouncing in excitement beside Severus, to the  professor's  relief. He was looking forward to seeing Draco again. Severus had traded the Sorting responsibilities with Minerva just so Harry could see Draco earlier than usual although he would never admit it aloud. 

When asked he had told Minerva that it was to set the first years straight before the year started.

The first years didn't take too long to arrive. They all looked like drowned rats due to the torrential rain and they shivered as they looked around the Hall in wonder. 

Severus noticed with a smug feeling that a small group of students were carefully nonplussed at their surroundings. He pegged them immediately  as Slytherin potential and kept a sharp eye on them as he sneered and dried them off  with a  wave of his wand. Harry didn't bat an eyelid at Severus' change in disposition.

He had already  had  Severus' dungeon bat persona  explained to him  and had other things to focus on in that moment. He had caught sight of Draco. A beaming smile crossed his face just as Draco caught sight of him. The little blond Malfoy pushed through the crowd, making good use of his pointy elbows, with a small group of students in tow. 

Harry darted forward to give him a quick hug. Draco glared furiously at anyone who sniggered as he hugged him back. He stepped back and Harry found that everyone was staring at him. He stiffened under the piercing stares, trying hard to ignore the whisperings.  He  remembered  what Severus had told him and made himself relax when he reminded himself of Severus’ promise to make sure he was  treated  normally. 

''Hi Harry. These are my other friends.'' He introduced Pansy and Blaise, Theodore Nott, Crabbe and  Goyle . Harry was  trying to make sure he had nodded and smiled at  all  of  Draco's friends,  but he  was distracted from the others when  a familiar red head  pushed to the front of the group .

''Oh look, it's the Saviour.''  Ron  snarled.

Draco sneered at him. ''No need to tell us who you are.'' Draco said pompously. ''Red hair, and hand me down robes, an awful complexion...you must be a Weasley!''

Ron bristled angrily. ''Bugger off Malfoy you prat. I'm talking to Potter.'' He spat. Hatred dripped like venom from his words and Harry glared at the red headed boy.  He didn’t know why Ron was acting that way, they had only met once and very briefly.  For probably the first time in his life he stood up  to  someone. 

''Don't call Draco that or you'll have me to deal with!'' He challenged fiercely. 

Ron scowled. ''Why not? Is he your boyfriend?'' He teased. ''You poofs.'' Ron was as red in the face as his hair with anger and when the homophobic slur flew out of his twisted mouth, the others rallied around Harry and Draco.

Blaise eyed him  coolly  in disdain. ''You shouldn't make yourself a target this early in the year Weasel.'' He warned with a scary dangerous glint in his eyes. Pansy glared at Ron and latched onto Draco's arm protectively, while Crabbe and  Goyle  grunted intimidatingly. Theo stepped up beside Harry, flashing him a comforting smirk as he glared at Ron. 

The flustered boy backed down in the face of the  indivisible  group and disappeared into the crowd with a spiteful scowl.

Severus finally stepped in, clearing his throat pointedly. Harry smiled  gratefully  around at the small group surrounding him before focusing on Severus. When he had the attention of all the first years Severus began his speech explaining the Houses, the points system and basically instilling terror in almost  all  the first years. 

When  most of  the students were terrified of the menacing professor and trembling out of fear instead of the cold ,  he nodded in satisfaction. He  led  them into the Great Hall swiftly ,  Draco and his friends t aking  point on the line of first years while Harry stuck to Severus' side as he strode up to the small unassuming brown stool in front of the teacher's table.

Everyone but Harry was called forward to sit on the stool  quickly . When only he was left Severus rolled up the parchment, the picture of boredom. ''Harry Potter, Sorted before the Sorting. Slytherin.''  He droned.

The entire hall burst into shocked whispers. All except Draco, Blaise, Theo and Pansy who beamed at him from the Slytherin table. Harry beamed back at them. He had an inkling of the inter house hatred but didn't really care  to worry about it at that moment in time .  He was in the same House as his friend and budding friends, and that was all that mattered to him right then.

 Albus stood up, with a slight smile of discomfort, and quieted everyone down. ''Now that the Sorting is over, I have a few  announcements,  but they can wait. Tuck in!'' He clapped his hands and the plates filled miraculously with mountains of food.

Harry  stared worriedly at the Slytherin table. He didn’t want to sit at the Teacher’s Table and look like a coward in front of his  Housemates,  but the table looked awfu lly loud. As he contemplated the two choices, he cau ght Draco’s eye. He sat beside Pansy and Blaise, who both looked at Harry too, and moved over to make a space beside him and Pansy.

“You can sit at your House table if you wish.” Severus murmured beside him. Harry bit his lip but nodded as he  decided .

“ I'll  sit there.” He said firmly. Hurrying over to the table, he slid into the seat beside Draco. Pansy immediately began talking about how adorable his hair was and B laise rolled his eyes, mouthing good luck to Harry, who grinned and flushed. 

Albus stood up with a smile that looked a little discomforted and clapped his hands. “I have many announcements, but they can wait. Tuck in !” On his words, the plates filled up with food instantly. A general buzz of chatter struck up in the  hall,  but Harry wasn’t too bothered by the noise. He was  quickly  drawn into a conversation with Draco on chess and Theo interjected excitedly, joining in easily.

Harry beamed as he  realised  that not many people from his House were staring at him or  whispering  about him. When he did meet the gaze of an older student or fellow first year, they merely nodded in greeting and smoothly moved on.

A warm contented feeling filled his chest and he looked up to Severus with a smile. Seems like he had made the right choice.  And the food was amazing too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Again, the pace will pick up now that school is actually here. The story just did not want to go to school. I've never understood when writers say ''it's not cooperating'' or that their characters won't do what they want them to do. But now i do. AND YOU4RE GONNA MAKE ME CRY PEOPLE. JUST GET TO CLASS PLEASE! plllleeeeeaaassseee. Anyway. Yeah. See you next time and thank you for reading.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I wouldn't update but I realised I'm actually busier next week what with flying home and school starting up so I decided t update this week and not next week. And honestly I can't stay away haha. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Edited 9 April 2020. Side Note: I seem to edit every three days.

 Severus sneered as he sat in his office after the Feast.  Albus had held a small staff meeting directly after the Feast to inform them of the recent deal made with Nicholas Flamel regarding the Stone.  To no one’s surprise, the reception hadn’t been what Albus was expecting.

 Keeping a horde of monsters in the castle, which was also a school and contained thousands of young wizards and witches, in order to protect a magical alchemic stone that could grant immortality and turn things to gold was a stupid idea. In  Severus’ and many other  professors'  opinion. 

He shuffled a sheaf of parchment and scowled even deeper. 

''Where am I going to sleep?'' Harry asked  suddenly , breaking Severus out of his reverie. 

''You could sleep in our quarters however I would prefer it if you slept in the dorm most nights.'' Severus replied evenly, focusing his attention on Harry  and pushing Albus’ idiocy out of his mind .

Harry nodded but still  seemed wary. “How does that work? Does everyone sleep together?” He asked.

''The dormitories have a  particular system .  Like the other Houses, each year has a  separate  floor, however as we are in the dungeons the higher your year, the lower your floor is.  '' Severus supplied.

 Harry still didn't look convinced and Severus could tell that he was still wary at the thought of sleeping with someone else. 

'You would be sharing with Draco.'' He added.

Harry was still on edge at the thought of being in such close quarters with someone; it was clear in his posture. His right hand clutched his left arm and his piercing green eyes were slightly clouded. 

''I can still sleep in my room if I want , right? '' He said the question almost firmly. Severus hid his smile and bowed his head once. 

''Yes.''

''Then...okay.'' Harry acquiesced. He peeked out the office door. ''They're here.'' He announced with a small glance over his shoulder. Severus stood up swiftly. 

''You should get going.'' He said with an air of indifference. Harry rolled his eyes but slipped out the  door,  nevertheless . Severus waited a moment then steeled himself and swept out of his office with billowing robes. He stopped in front of the first years and surveyed them with a slight sneer. 

Some of them looked slightly terrified but the rest of them had perfected masks of indifference, he noted with a small flare of pride. They would make good Slytherins.

Harry was discreetly staring around the room in awe. It was a rather impressive common room and never failed to impress. A wide set of  polished marble  steps led into the common room, flaring at the bottom, reminiscent of castle steps. The common room itself was all vaulted ceilings and chandeliers that dripped polished gems and wealth; plush leather sofas were arranged facing each other around the grand fireplace and various isolated tables and chairs made up  separate  study areas. 

Large mirrors and tapestries hung on the walls added to the opulence. The room was made of stone, what with it being in the dungeons, but there was no lack of warmth due to the large fire crackling silently in the grate. But the most impressive fixture in the room was the large window looking into the lake that cast a greenish glow on the entire room, making it seem as if it was underwater.

When Harry was finished staring around Severus started his yearly speech.

''Despite public notion, Slytherin House is not the house of evil. We are prided on our cunning, ambition and  resourcefulness  along with our determination and leadership skills. As Slytherins you are expected to uphold the ideals and traits of this house. You are expected to comport yourself with dignity and pride, and I will let you know now and only once, anything that disgraces this  house,  or your housemates will not go unpunished.''

He let that sink in before continuing, pacing slowly in front the rigid line of students.

''You will face discrimination from both students and teachers and will be both verbally and physically attacked outside of these rooms. Any sign of vulnerability or weakness will be exploited, most likely by Gryffindors, which is why outside of these rooms we are united. An attack or slight on a housemate is an attack on you. No matter what happens in these rooms, what idiotic fights you have amongst yourselves, as soon as you go out into those corridors you are a united house. We stand together and we fall or rise together. That is what it means to be Slytherin. These rooms will always be a safe haven for you ,  however ,  any action taken out against your fellow housemates will be brought to me and it will be dealt with severely.''

He lowered his voice and eyed them darkly.

''Slytherin house is hated. Never forget that. But we rise above it. We hold ourselves with decorum and pride. Because we are Slytherins, the best of the best, chosen because we suit the requirements set by Salazar Slytherin. Never forget who you are. Uphold the notions of this house. That is all.''

The Prefects ushered the first years to their dorms when he  finished,  and he watched Harry whispering with Draco and Blaise as they disappeared under the left set of spiral stairs. 

He fought the urge to follow the small  ravenette  and turned around to go into his office. He went over his lesson plans and organised his robes for the next day. The quarters felt a little colder by  himself, but he ignored the lonely feeling and sat down at his desk with a tumbler of whisky.

He had just started on future lesson plans when his office door creaked open slowly. He stiffened but relaxed when a familiar head of tousled black hair peeped around the door. ''Just came to say goodnight.'' Harry said  brightly . 

Severus smiled slightly. ''Goodnight Harry. Will you be dining with me tomorrow morning?'' Harry cocked his head as he thought. 

''I'll have breakfast with Draco and Blaise. United front after all. Goodnight.'' He cracked a smile and left, closing the door behind him.

***********

The first day he ate breakfast at the Slytherin table and managed to ignore the stares from various students craning their necks to look at him, greatly helped in that endeavour by older Slytherin students who glared mutinously at the staring students despite their own intrigue. 

Severus had been interrupted in his  watchfulness  by Quirrell who had commented on Harry's placement in Severus' house.  “c-c-curious that P-p-potter was p-p-placed in your  house,e -eh Severus?” He stuttered with a chuckle.

Severus didn’t deign to answer the man, responding with merely a sneer.  The strange professor had arrived rather late before the term started , with the excuse that he had been travelling in Albania.  He hadn't approached the other teachers upon his arrival, merely hiding in his quarters and missing meals with the others until the Welcoming Feast. 

Severus made a mental note to keep an eye on Quirrell. Harry did exceptionally well in all his lessons which didn't shock Severus.  However,  he was shocked when the boy managed to answer questions well above his level in Potions. He had obviously been reading higher level books without Severus' knowledge. 

The amount of points he won for his house in that lesson alone placed him in good standing with other Slytherins.

Harry quickly  settled into  a routine to Severus' pleasure. He spent an hour each evening with Severus doing homework or reading and the rest of the time with his friends. 

The group had quickly established themselves as the reigning students of first year whether Harry knew it or not. The older students seemed to be fond of him, and respected Draco, Pansy, Blaise and Theo due to their high standing in society. 

Everything was going well. With the help of his friends and a few breathing techniques, Harry was managing the crowds and the busy life of school. Until the middle of the second week.

A  last-minute  classroom change had Draco and Harry wandering around the castle in the afternoon of their second Wednesday of school. Draco being Draco,  had  assured Harry that he  definitely knew  where he was going and made him follow him to the classroom.

Draco stopped in front of a random door at the end of one of the corridors. 

''This is it.'' He said to Harry, who looked completely unconvinced. He threw a look around at the shadows gathered in the corridor and the lack or torches, along with the abandoned aura of the door.

''I really don't think this is it.'' He said with a frown. 

Draco waved away his worries gracefully. ''Nonsense.'' He put his hand on the handle and pushed. Nothing happened. He frowned and tried again, to no avail. Harry rolled his eyes. 

''I told you.'' He muttered under his breath. 

Draco huffed. ''They've just locked it because we're late. We have this class with Gryffindors, you know how they are.'' 

Harry thought about Ron and his nasty friend Seamus and conceded. He knew how they were.

Draco began knocking on the door loudly. ''Merlin. Have you forgotten you're a wizard?'' Harry laughed. He pushed Draco to the side gently and drew his wand. ''Aloho-''

''WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE?'' A voice cackled angrily. They spun around in shock to see Filch hobbling towards them at a surprising pace with  Ms. Norris  at his heels as usual.   Hi s  thin  arm darted out and he grabbed Harry roughly by the shoulders. 

Bony fingers dug into Harry’s collarbone and he  tried  to squirm away from the pain but Filch didn't let go. If  anything,  he held on tighter and grinned nastily at him.

''Two first year students, skipping class and in an out of bounds corridor!'' He cast a loving gaze down at his hellion of a cat. ''Dumbledore will have to let me punish them, my sweet.  Oh,  how I've been wanting to bring thumbscrews back.'' He announced gleefully. 

''Let him go.'' Draco ordered coldly. He had drawn  his wand too and held it threateningly down by his side. Filch scowled at him, bearing his rotten teeth. 

''Oho, you can't tell me what to do.'' He hissed.

Draco raised one perfect eyebrow regally. ''My father is Lucius Malfoy. He holds a lot of power with the Board. I could get rid of you in a second.'' He warned. 

Harry whimpered as Filch dug in harder in his anger. His eyes darted around frantically as images of Vernon assaulted his mind. ''Please no! Don't hurt me!'' He  begged . 

Draco's gaze snapped to his terrified friend and he bristled. ''Let. Him. Go.'' He said lowly. 

Filch sneered. ''No.'' He said cruelly. 

Harry began hyperventilating  and  Draco's grip tightened on his wand  as  he swung it up, pointing it square in  Filch's  face. ''I said let him go you filthy Squib. Can't do much against this can you?!'' He smirked when Filch shrunk back from the wand.

''What is going on here?!'' Another voice joined the fray. Professor Quirrell ran down the hall towards them. His turban was slightly  askew,  and he looked incredibly flustered.  ''F-Filch! Let P-P-Potter g-go!'' He ordered. 

Filch obeyed reluctantly ,  powerless  against a teacher’s  authority.  He quickly attempted to save his own hide. ''He verbally attacked  me,  and he threatened me with magic!'' He roared, pointing at Draco who stood stiffly with a fiery glint in his eyes. Quirrell raised his eyebrows.

''I don't t-think a f-f-first year can do much ha-harm.'' He said in disbelief. 

Filch scowled.  He had  obviously  lost his case before he had even begun.  ''Come my sweet.'' He said to his cat. '

‘ 'Albus w-will hear about-t t-this!'' Quirrell exclaimed. Filch ignored him, and when he was gone Quirrell turned around, fixing his turban, and  kneel ed  down  to where Harry was  frozen  against the wall in the throes of a panic attack. The teacher whispered comfortingly to Harry until he had calmed down and came out of the terrified state.

Draco quickly rushed to his side and helped him up. Harry was obviously exhausted. Quirrell bit his lip. ''Both o-of you g-g-go to the H- Hospit - tal  Wing.'' He commanded. ''I'll let y-your Head of H-House know what h-happened.'' 

Draco and Harry quickly took the olive branch and left for the Hospital Wing, Draco talking about everything and anything as they went ,  to distract Harry.  The ordeal was over before it begun.

*********

When Severus found out ,  he stormed to the Headmaster's Office. Albus hadn't been shocked when he burst in. He merely looked tired. He looked ridiculous with a wispy goatee doing nothing to hide his weak chin , courtesy of Minerva . 

He had been avoiding all teachers and students since the Welcoming Feast where he had debuted his new look to covert sniggers of laughter. 

''I want Filch gone. He wants to bring torture back and is a terrible caretaker in any regard.'' Severus dived in immediately.

Albus sighed, looking close to tears. ''I can't do that Severus.'' He argued.  “Filch is incredibly important to the restoration and care of priceless  artefacts  and paintings here in the castle. I can’t just get rid of him!”

''Yes, you will.'' Severus stated before storming out, leaving the door open behind him just to spite the old man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it, thank you for reading and see you all in two weeks!


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies! Life completely passed me by and it's been hectic! Exam prep, prepping for a baking competition next week and just life in general went by so fast that I didn't even notice the time passing! I'll try updating sooner this time! Apologies again!
> 
> Edited 9 April 2020.

The morning after the altercation with Filch, Harry, Draco, Blaise and Theo were having breakfast in the Hospital Wing. Harry was sitting in one of the turned down beds, his black hair and tanned complexion a stark contrast against the white  of the sheets .

His eyes carried dark bruise-like  bags,  but he was smiling broadly  while  the boys chattered around him. As the plates were just vanishing, a snowy white owl soared through one of the open windows. It's shrill  shriek alerted Madam Pomfrey and the  medi -witch bustled out of her office just as it alighted on the wrought metal of the back board.

"No animals in the Hospital Wing! Where is your common sense?!" She waved her arms at the bird. It squawked, dropping the crumpled letter onto the bedsheets before flying back out the open window. With a scowl, Poppy closed the window. She turned back around grumpily with her hands firmly placed on her hips.

"Well?" She asked the silent boys. "Open it then  since it was worth having animals in my ward !" 

Harry hurriedly picked it up and unfolded the crumpled, slightly grubby piece of paper.  He scanned through the note, completely oblivious to everyone watching him. 

"Well, read it aloud then." Theodore said impatiently. 

"Oh, um. It's not very well written…." Harry replied with an apologetic smile. Nevertheless, he cleared his throat and began to read. The scrawl of ink was almost unintelligible  meaning he  had to squint as he read hesitantly. 

"Dear Harry, sorry about not picking you up from the Dursley's. Got into a spot of bother on a secret mission for Dumbledore, can't say much about that. I know you have afternoons off on Friday, so I'm inviting you up for tea. Hagrid."

He blinked at the frowning boys in front of him. "Who's Hagrid?" He asked perplexedly. 

Draco scoffed and investigated his nails as if they were the most interesting things on the planet. "He's an oaf." 

"He's the groundskeeper." Blaine explained. The Italian boy shot a look Draco's way.

"Father says he's an oaf. Someone that idiotic and ridiculously abnormal shouldn't be at Hogwarts." Draco  argued . 

Harry glared at his best friend. The letter was crushed in his hands as he sat up straight. "He's not abnormal nor an oaf." He declared. Draco stared at him incredulously before  he realised his mistake. Harry had explained a little bit about his past and the Dursley’s hatred for magic, including the insults , and Draco instantly felt terrible about calling Hagrid abnormal.

Draco gazed apologetically at Harry until he  softened and  nodded  to let him know it was okay . Draco smiled slightly before going back to his nails. "Well, I suppose he has his redeeming qualities." He sniffed. 

Blaine rolled his eyes and tugged on his sleeve cuff. "What are you going to do then?"

Harry looked up from the letter. "Hmm?" 

"About the invitation." Blaine explained. 

"Oh, well, I'll probably go."  Harry said. “It would be rude not to, right? ”

Draco shrugged  and t he boys began to pick up their bags prepare for class. Harry looked up at them as they began to leave. "If I'm out of here by then." He joked as Madam Pomfrey started to fuss over him again.

" Oh,  be quiet young man. You had a terrible panic attack and you severely drained your energy. Now with all the visitors, you need to stay in bed longer." She said briskly. Harry rolled his eyes but obediently stayed in bed, watching wistfully as the boys hurried off to class.

**********

When Harry had told Severus of his invitation that evening, the professor wasn't surprised.  Hagrid was incredibly loyal to Albus and had been close to James and Lily.  Of course  he would want to get to know their son.

Harry and Severus  were sitting in the living room of their quarters ,  Harry doing homework as Severus corrected papers mercilessly in red ink  when he brought the subject up.

“Hagrid, the  Gamekeeper,  invited me to tea with him on Friday. I  was just wondering if I could go. I thought it would be rude to say no when he went to all that trouble of sending an owl to the Hospital Wing.” Harry said.

Severus mentally flinched at the image of Madam  Pomfrey’s  well known hatred of animals inside her Hospital Wing. “I’m sure she was less than pleased.” He humme d as he crossed out another sentence. He scratched a large D on the parchment, circling it harshly before pulling another essay toward him.

"So, can I go?" Harry asked tentatively as he caught up on his missed work. 

Severus didn't look up from slashing his quill across the unfortunate parchment. "It would be rude to decline the invite." He sniffed. Harry paused in his work. He frowned at the unimpressed tone Snape had taken but didn't mention it.

" So,  I'll be having tea with Hagrid tomorrow then." He stated definitively. Severus  made a  noise  of vague acceptance . 

After a breath, he put down the parchment. "Hagrid is…rather large but  in essence he is harmless. If you'd like, I could go with you to his hut on the edge of the grounds."

Harry shook his head after a moment of deliberation with an easy smile. "No thank you. Draco said he'd go with me. But thank you for the offer." 

Severus nodded and sat back on the couch. "Did you sleep well last night?" He asked suddenly. 

"Yes."  Harry replied easily, despite the fact that the sallow pallor of his skin and the bruise-like circles under his eyes  said otherwise.

Severus hummed and went back to his  corrections,  but the back of his mind was plagued with thoughts. He made a mental note to talk to Poppy about the  ever-present  dark circles that darkened Harry's eyes.

**********

Draco flipped his striped green scarf over his shoulder haughtily as the duo walked through the castle corridors. "How did you find that  Transfiguration homework ?"  He asked idly.

Harry shrugged and stepped  lithely  down the stone steps into the Entrance Hall. "Fairly easy. And the Charms?" He asked Draco who rolled his eyes. 

"Who doesn't get  Wingardium  Leviosa?" 

They chuckled as they walked onto the lush grounds.  Weak rays of sunlight peeked out of the heavy clouds,  splashing a pale watery light over the grass. Evening was approaching fast, and 

"He better  have  good food." Draco grumbled as they approached Hagrid's hut.  The tall foreboding trees of the Forbidden Forest loomed beside the hut, a haze of darkness seeming to stop just  behind  the tree line . Harry wondered how anyone could live beside such a terrifying place.

Often at night, howls could be heard coming from the depths of the forest and Harry swore he could see strange horse shaped creatures flying over the treetops sometimes.

Harry merely rolled his eyes  at Draco’s words , used to his best  friends'  attitude enough that he d idn’t  bother to chide him.

He'd keep the nagging for when he really need ed  it.

In front of the imposing wooden door ,  they stopped. With a glance towards Draco  who scowled into his scarf , Harry knocked  quickly on the door . 

Loud stomping noises emanated from inside the small hut , shaking the doorframe slightly,  and the door swung open quickly, forcing the boys to step back to avoid being flattened. A great lumbering man filled the doorway  and cast a large shadow over the two boys . Harry stared up at him with wide eyes.

"Arry!" He boomed.  His  wiry  beard hid most of his face but that didn’t dampen the sound of his voice, the same way his bushy eyebrows did nothing to hide the welcoming twinkle  in his eyes. “There you are!” He exclaimed. “And you brought Draco too.”

 Draco thought ahead to the painkiller potion he'd have to take after all the noise  and  groaned  internally . Hagrid stepped back and gestured them in. "Thought you'd never come! I have the rock cakes all laid out an' all. Tea?" 

Draco nodded politely seeing as Harry was too busy gawping at his surroundings.

They were indeed impressive surroundings. All sorts of animal hair hung in thick strands from the rafters, one rather thick strand glist ening  with a silver glow which Draco thought looked suspiciously like unicorn hair. Gleaming giant copper pots and pans hung amongst them , of all shapes and sizes . 

A large wooden table took up most of what seemed to be the kitchen , with a dog bed in the corner holding the biggest dog Harry had ever seen. 

“ Tha’s  Fang.” Hagrid said. “A great big dog, he is, but a coward all the same!”

A  large hearth roared with a merry fire and a cosy couch filled most of the entrance. Outside the wi ndow, a view of a rather magnificent pumpkin patch distracted from the dark trees behind it.

Giant sized everything filled the hut. Which Harry supposed was expected for a man this size.

Hagrid thumped large mugs the size of Harry's head down onto the  dining  table as they sat down.  “I didn’t know if you were  gonna  come.” He repeated. “It’s almost dark. Wouldn’t want any students wandering around near the Forest after dark.” He chuckled.

 Draco pushed a slobbery Fang away from him with a small curl of disgust at the corner of his lips. 

"Well we had a lot of homework." He said curtly. Harry kicked his shins discreetly before smiling apologetically as Hagrid settled into his own chair.

" Thanks for the invite Hagrid. Although,  I ’m sorry to say it, but  don't really know who you are." Harry said  apologetically .  He grasped his mug with two hands to carefully lift it to his mouth.

"Ah it's no bother." Hagrid waved him off with one giant hand. "Don' expect you to know 'bout me." Draco pushed Fang away again.

"I was supposed to collect you from the Dursley's, but I had  summat  to do for Dumbledore. Great man he is. I knew your parents you know." Hagrid added conversationally. Harry  stared at him in shock  and Draco sat up straighter with a glance  at  Harry.

"My parents?" H arry  whispered. All mentions of Dumbledore being a great man went out the window, out of Draco's and Harry's minds at the thought of Lily and James. 

Hagrid was oblivious to the drastic change in atmosphere. "Ah yeah, James was a confident one, he was. Always with that Snitch of his ,  and his friends. Never seen without Sirius or Remus, best of friends they were."

He poured more tea into their already half full mugs. "You remind me of him you know. Except for the eyes. You've got your mother's eyes. She was lovely. Lily was so sweet but Merlin, she could be a feisty one." Hagrid chuckled, throwing Fang a bone as he did.

"Could you …. tell  me about them?" Harry asked quietly. 

"Course I can!" Hagrid boomed.  “James was a great lad.  Bit of a troublemaker, mind you, but he was decent all the same.  Now, Lily, she was smart. She could make potions with her eyes closed and could hex the hair off  yeh  while she did it!”

“ It was sad to see ‘ em  go. But they really loved you ‘Arry no doubt about that.” Hagrid said as he pointed a stubby finger at Harry.

Draco knocked Harry’s knee with his own and stared at him comfortingly. Harry cleared his throat. “Mum was good at Potions then?” He asked .

Hagrid thumped his mug down on the table. “Good? She was  brilliant ! Have a rock cake.”

While Hagrid  told tales of Lily and James’ school days, the sun went down quicker than Harry would have liked. He coiled his scarf around his neck as they stood by the door, ready to say goodbye.

“Thanks for everything Hagrid.” Harry said with a beaming smile. Draco hurriedly pulled his robes on, patting Fang’s head swiftly before pulling his hand back quickly. 

“Any time ‘Arry. You come back for some tea now,  yeh  hear?” Hagrid said sternly.

“Yes, yes, we’ll come back.” Draco assured as he tugged Harry out of the hut. Harry waved goodbye to Hagrid as Draco pulled him up the path, Hagrid waving and smiling broadly until they were out of sight.

Draco looked at Harry in despair, tears swimming in his eyes. “Harry, I think the cake broke my teeth.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! See you next time!


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus is at his wits end, Ron is an ass and Harry is just gliding through it. Supposedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am alive! As an apology for the long wait, here's an update over 3k! If this is a little weird, apologies. I've been away from this fic for a while and need to get back into writing (I'm a bit rusty!) And back into how I wanted the characters to be portrayed. So if it's a bit off, sorry! I plan to read back over the full fic and make small tweaks to this chapter if I need to. 
> 
> Nothing major so you won't need to read back over it if you don't want to, there isn't going to be new plot twists or anything. Just maybe some dialogue changes or tweaks in characters actions if they're too OCC for my liking. Maybe. Anyway, please enjoy! This is long overdue so I'll let you guys get to it. Oh, not proofread fully either.
> 
> Edited 9 April 2020 Side Note: Why do all of these chapters look so much longer in Word Doc? Like, I compiled all the chapters into one document when I started editing so I could see how it flows, and it was over 30 pages. And then I get onto this and it's like, oh did you even write a chapter? I thought it was a paragraph. Seriously, this chapter was seven pages long in Word Doc. Is it my font size? I mean, I have it at 11, that's normal right?

Poppy and Severus sat in the Hospital Wing, in her office. The second week of school had gone by well for Harry. Except for the nightmares. Ever since the altercation with Filch, the poor young boy had been plagued by night terrors. 

He had been keeping them to himself , putting spells up so no one heard him and trying to hide the  horrendous  bags under his eyes. But of course, nothing lasts forever, and one day in Transfiguration, the lack of sleep got to him.

He had been following the lesson. Despite the sleep deprivation, he felt fine and had no problems with keeping up with the pace of the lesson until  a sudden dizzy spell gave him a headache. 

He passed it off as nothing, just the heat of the classroom getting to him. He was sorely mistaken.  Harry had collapsed from exhaustion in the classroom , scaring the students  and Professor McGonagall who had him rushed to the Hospital Wing.

Now , while Harry was once again in the Hospital Wing, Poppy and Severus were going over everything from the last week, trying to figure out what was wrong. 

"Severus this could be a good thing." Poppy sighed. "Don't look at me like that. He's letting his guard down. He trusts his surroundings and you enough to begin to confront the horror of his past. Not a very far away past but  a  past,  nonetheless.  He n eeds help and this will finally make him see that . "

Severus ignored the turmoil inside his chest. His feelings warred with themselves. Happiness that Harry trusted him but frustration at what he went through and is going through. "I don't know what to do. I'm hardly qualified to work through this with him." He admitted.

"I know you're hesitant to do this, but therapy is really the only solution."  Poppy told him gently.

Severus wanted to argue but a hopelessness deep down told him it really was the only way. "I don't want him going far away." He said. His tone left no room for arguing. Poppy nodded her head, knowing well enough not to push. 

"Of course not. I was thinking we research Hogsmeade. Or even St.  Mungos . He could  apparate  there on weekends.  Side-along or even  Floo . "  She listed. 

Severus frowned. "We'll see.  I don’t want to make a decision without Harry’s input. " 

The two began to brainstorm and research close wizarding therapists, which was harder than it sounded. The two spent the entire evening scouring for any trace of relatively close therapy options. Luckily since the war, wizarding therapy had become more popular for those who struggled with PTSD, anxiety or depression after the war.

For a fairly backwards society like the sorcery society, it was rather miraculous. However, things didn't help when Severus kept shooting professionals down for no reason other than "they look useless" and  "this one has a moustache, it will remind Harry of his uncle" or "this one's female, Harry had an evil aunt."

Eventually Poppy couldn't take it anymore and she snapped. Exploded might be a better term. "Severus! Harry cannot go around being frightened of females or moustaches or young fat boys or bloody biscuits just because of his childhood!" She yelled. Her eye twitched dangerously and her hair began to frizz out of its perfect bun. 

Severus snidely gave her the evil eye but wisely chose to say nothing.

"Now." Pomfrey sat back in her chair. She was calm and compose d  once again, all traces of her slight break down vanished like the respectable nurse she was. "We've narrowed it down to two. One in Hogsmeade and one in  Mungos . I say we let Harry choose between the two. I'm sure he'd pick the one he feels most comfortable with. He will never be fully at ease around them but they're therapists. Their jobs are to make people uncomfortable."

Severus begrudgingly acquiesced. "Fine. But if either of them  is  incompetent, we are finding someone else." 

Poppy raise an eyebrow. "How will you judge if they are incompetent? I thought you weren't well equipped to be a therapist. Or am I wrong?" Severus glared at her mutinously and seethed inside, vowing to find every single book on psychology and learn  every single thing  on the subject.

***********

Harry woke up, once again in the Hospital Wing  and he  sighed when he met the worried gazes of Draco and Blaise. "I never seem to have a change of scenery." He joked. 

Draco rolled his eyes. " Of course,  you don't,  because  you don't talk to us, you stubborn prat." He glared at  Harry,  but the anger hid the hurt in his eyes. The hurt that Harry didn't miss. Familiar guilt invaded his consciousness like an old friend and lodged itself easily into his chest.

He sank back against the pillows looking every bit exhausted as he was. The bags under his eyes were dark purple, zombie- esque , and he had lost  practically  all the weight he had gained  since arriving at Hogwarts . His cheekbones jutted out from under his skin. They were almost painfully sharp. "Sorry Dray. I….you know that I can't talk about stuff."

Draco huffed. "Just get better for flying lessons! They're this Thursday, and we're both getting on the team."  He decided to let Harry’s unhealthy coping mechanisms go for the moment. 

Blaise laughed. "Draco, no first year has gotten onto the team in eons!" 

The blond pulled himself up to his tallest height imperiously. "That's exactly why we're going to get on it."

Harry laughed at his friend's confidence but couldn't help being buoyed. He vowed to get better, if not for himself then for his friends. Blaise and Draco made eye contact above Harry's head. A silent conversation flitted between the two. 

Blaise nodded, standing up smoothly in a way drilled only into purebloods. "I'll get us some food." He said tactfully. He left the Wing with a smile sent Harry's way and a respectable nod to Draco.

Draco settled himself further into his chair as a stifling silence descended over the two. "I'm not dumb." He said, never one to beat around the bush. "I know why you have panic attacks, why you have nightmares, why you don't  really  like people touching you  unexpectedly , loud noises or meeting new people. 

“ I know they did things to you. Terrible things.  I know you didn’t tell me everything that happened, and that the insults were probably much worse than you let on. " 

Harry's breathe caught in his breath and he refused to meet his best friends heavy gaze. "You don't need to tell me what. You don't ever need to tell me if you don't want to but I'm here when you need me. Whenever you need me."  Draco vowed.

Wisdom far greater than  eleven-year old’s years  rolled off his tongue as if he was always in the habit of supporting his ill friends. Only Harry knew that there was a socially inept, easily angered, jealous, often  self-centred  softy behind his pureblood exterior. 

Both boys ignored the small tears that rolled intermittently down Harry's light olive toned skin. "I may not have been filled in on everything before meeting  you,  but I have been told I'm a very observational person." 

Harry laughed at Draco's small boast. Really, the boy couldn't help bragging about himself even at times like this. The chuckle broke the heavy mood successfully.

"So yeah. Talk to us next time idiot!"  Draco finished lamely. He stared at his intertwined hands instead of at Harry.  Both their gazes held knowledge far beyond  any child  should have but they easily fell into discussing how best to get onto the Quidditch team that Thursday. 

When Blaise got back, Pansy and Theo in tow Harry felt more hopeful than he had in a while. Like maybe recovery was possible. He didn't know how he would get better or even  when,  but he was determined to give it a go.

**************

It seemed like no time had passed before flying lessons came around. Harry had gotten out of the Hospital Wing  fairly quickly , determined to get better and not let his overly ambitious friends down. 

If Draco was determined to get onto the team, he would do so at any cost, including dragging his friends up at the crack of dawn before the lessons to give his ridiculously  unknowledgeable  best friend a crash course in Quidditch.

The small band of companions dragged themselves into the Great Hall for breakfast  the day of the flying lesson  after a gruelling theory lesson. 

"I don't see why we had to do that." Harry complained. "I need sleep. I like sleep. Sleep likes me. It's a good relationship." He grumbled to himself.  He may trust his friends, but not even he was prepared to anger Draco by complaining about Quidditch.

Severus  stared at the Slytherin table idly  from up at the teacher's table and frowned. Although he was only going along with the therapy idea because of its last resort status he couldn't help but hope it would help Harry in some way. Although he had gotten marginally better at Hogwarts, it wasn't enough. He needed to be able to live his life to the fullest; it was the least he deserved.

"I'm definitely going to be the best flyer." An obnoxious, loud, prattling voice floated over to the Slytherin table from the Gryffindor table. "My brothers have all been on the team, except Perce, so I'm obviously  gonna  make it on it next year." 

Draco scowled at Ron from across the room. "That  toerag  needs to shut up." He hissed. "His stupidity is going to infect the others at this rate."

Pansy smirked into her goblet of pumpkin juice. "I know a spell that could really tie him up a bit , if we want to shut him up for a while. "  She took a long sip of her juice as she stared at the back of Ron’s head and  Theo shivered at the terrifying glint of mirth in her eyes. 

"We don't need a spell. We'll show him when we get on the team this year." Harry interjected with a grin to Draco. Malfoy smirked and folded his arms in the most superior way Harry had ever seen.

"You? Get on the team? Please, don't be stupid. Who the hell do you think you are?" Ron glared at Harry angrily.  He had made his way over to the Slytherin table with Seamus and Dean in tow with the hopes of a little morning taun ting, but the idea of Harry getting onto the  Quidditch  team had aptly infuriated him.

"Why are you over here? Go to your own side lion." Draco drawled. Ron bristled, his face turning as red as his hair, making it seem like his hair melted into his face.

"As if you're going to get onto the team! You're only first years and as if the Hero over here knows anything about Quidditch. Everyone knows he grew up with useless Muggles." Ron persisted in his  yelling. 

Harry tensed beside Draco at the mention of the Dursley's and that was enough for Draco to rise to Ron's bait. "As if you have a good enough broom to join the team any year Weasel! Don't you live in an actual pigsty?"

Suddenly, Ron lunged at him over the  table,  but his flailing hands failed to wrap themselves around their target as he was yanked back. Fred stood holding his struggling younger brother as if it was an everyday occurrence. "Hi Harry! Sorry about him, he's got a few  anger  problems. Good luck with the lesson!"

"Yeah and beat him off his broom for  us,  will you?" George added. They sauntered off with a wave ignoring the strangled yells of their brother. Percy hurried after them with a pained expression on his face. 

"Well. To the lesson boys?" Pansy said as she stood up and drained her pumpkin juice. Draco, Blaise, Theo and Harry all stared at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Since when have the twins been nice?" Blaise asked as they made their way onto the grounds.  He shivered in the  early  morning air and cursed whoever had the genius idea of making school start before 12 in the afternoon. He was a firm believe that mornings were made for sleeping, and early m orning classes did not  sit  well with him at all.

Harry shrugged. "They've never been mean to me." He said simply. "In fact, they seem to only be nice. I haven't even been pranked by them." 

Even though they had only been at school a little under a month, the twins had managed to let a  Niffler  loose in the Slytherin common room, flood an entire corridor and dye everyone's hair pink. Funnily enough, Harry's hair hadn't suffered. Draco had fumed about that for days. He still says his hair will never be the  same,  but it seemed like his usual soft, gelled back hair to Harry.

"We are not bringing the Incident up again." Draco ordered. Theo sniggered and shoved his hands into his pockets, flicking his hair out of his eyes even as the wind constantly whipped it into his face. "They seem to have taken a liking to you." He stated obviously in his fancy upper class British accent. He flicked his scarf over his shoulder. "I'm not surprised. Everyone likes you." He said to Harry not unkindly.

"Except Ron." Harry reminded him. He laughed at Theo's unimpressed face. 

"You know what I meant. Teacher's pet."  Th e o  grumbled. 

"Swot." Harry replied with an undercurrent of nerves in his voice. Theo scoffed to show it was all good. "I am an intellectual." He announced haughtily.

They arrived at the lesson to find Madam Hooch scolding Ron for mounting his broom too soon. Draco laughed as he passed the huffy red head. They took their places and Harry zoned out, completely focused on the lesson. I

t  wasn't until Neville began to rise from the ground that he came back into his surroundings. He winced as Neville thumped to the ground after an unfortunate trip to the top of the castle. Madam Hooch hustled him off to the Hospital Wing with strict instructions to  the class to  stay on the ground.

Ron immediately groaned. "Neville is so useless!" He complained. 

A small bushy haired girl immediately rounded on him. "That's not nice! It's Neville's first flying lesson, of course he wasn't going to be fantastic. He was better than you at any rate, at least he didn't get points taken away from Gryffindor in the first two minutes!" Her voice was shrill and  sharp,  but Harry couldn't help but agree with what the girl was saying.

Ron scowled and shoved her out of the way with his shoulder. "Shut up Hermione. No one likes you anyway. Stuck up know it all." He added under his  breath,  but Hermione heard it anyway.

 Tears glistened in her  eyes,  but she stubbornly refused to let them fall, Harry noticed. Ron stooped to the ground and picked something small and glittery. "Hey look, Idiot forgot his Remembrall." He said loudly. "Let's put it somewhere he can find it eh?"

He mounted his broom, after sticking his tongue out childishly at Hermione, and began to hover above the ground. In a surprising burst of confidence, though Harry just put it down to being fed up with the Gryffindor, Harry stepped forward with his hand on his hips and the other held out commandingly. "Give it here Ron." He said fiercely.

Ron glared at Harry in hatred. "Make me." He taunted darkly. With that he flew up into the air. Harry rolled his eyes and hopped  lightly  onto his broom. 

"Harry what are you doing?!" Draco exclaimed.  He almost tried to grab onto the broom’s bristles to stop him from flying  off,  but Malfoys did not hang off broom ends in public.

"Getting that ball back." Harry replied. He zoomed up after Ron and the two inexperienced flyers hovered above the class dangerously.

“Harry you’re just out of the Hospital Wing!” Draco yelled, fruitlessly. He huffed and crossed his arms. 

"Give it back Weasley!" Harry narrowed his eyes at the other boy. Ron scoffed. 

"Go catch it then." He replied shortly. With a sharp movement of his arm ,  he flung the ball as far away from him as he could. Without a second thought Harry rushed by him and towards the falling ball.

He raced towards the unmoving, stationary stone wall and just before he collided with it in a terrible  accident,  he caught the Remembrall with a deft flick of his wrist to raucous cheers from the class.  Flipping  around on the  broom, he descend ed  triumphantly from on high. 

His classmates and friends surrounded him  as soon as he touched the ground , still mindful of his  mild aversion to touch,  to congratulate him.  Draco completely ignored them and grasped Harry’s shoulders. 

“You keep saying you wish you could stay out of the Hospita l Wing. There’s a solution. Stop doing dangerous things! One could almost say that was Gryffindor like.” Draco shuddered.

"You've never flown before?!" Blaise gaped at the  self-conscious  boy in awe. Harry shook his head. A soft blush had flushed his  face,  but most put it down to the fast flying they had just witnessed. 

Ron stood on the edge of the crowd with ever growing hatred for Slytherins curdling in his stomach.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" McGonagall's shrill disbelieving voice cut through the cheer like a very effective damper. She hurried over to the students. "In all my years - I cannot believe - in your condition! What were you thinking?!" She stood in front of Harry, flustered and beside herself. 

Harry smiled sheepishly. He offered the Remembrall to her. "This is Neville's." He said.

Minerva took it with a grim set to her lips. "Come with me." She said thinly. Harry followed her through various corridors, scared of the punishment to come, but she saw his face and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "You're not in trouble." Harry sighed in relief but remained on edge when she added, "not too much at any rate."

She led him to a classroom. Harry popped his head in to see  Quirrell  holding an iguana beside the largest cauldron he had ever seen. Shadows danced across it from the fire lit below it, giving it an ethereal quality and casting shadows onto the man beside it ,  making the professor look ominous.  Quirrell  waved at him with the hand not holding the iguana. Harry nodded back nervously. 

"May I have Mr. Flint ,  professor?"  McGonagall asked. Professor Quirrell nodded almost sadly, obviously unhappy, in a kicked-puppy way.

Out from the classroom came a rather large boy with unfortunate teeth that must have taken a hit from a  Bludger  one too many times. 

"Flint." McGonagall began proudly.  “I  have found you a Seeker!"

*****************

"On the team." Draco repeated excitedly. "You're on the team. You're Seeker!" The two were studying in the library, or rather, discussing the latest gossip.  The news of Harry’s  achievement  had spread through the castle like Fiendfyre.

Harry frowned into his Charms book. "I'm sorry you didn't get on." 

Draco waved it off. "The teams haven't had  tryouts  yet. I can still be a Chaser. And my best friend is the youngest player on the Quidditch team in a century!" Draco smirked boastfully. 

"Yeah well, Severus says I need to gain ten pounds if I want to even think about playing the first match." Harry sighed glumly. He poked his skinny stomach lightly.  It really was a terrible time to lose all of his weight due to sleep deprivation.

"With your ravenous appetite I hardly doubt that will be a problem. Really Harry it's appalling. It's like watching a troll eat." Draco assure him with his nose  wrinkled  in faux disgust.

They were distracted from their conversation by a loud bang. They looked up to see Ronald Weasley storming into the library after kicking the door open. "Warning, a rodent is near." Draco announced loud enough for Ron to hear.

Harry didn't even know it was possible for a person to seethe to such an extent as Ron. A black cloud was practically visible above the jealous kid as he stalked to their desk. His loyal entourage of Seamus and Dean scurried behind him trying in vain to be the nonchalant cool kids Gryffindors were supposed to be.

" You  cheater!" Ron spat when he reached the desk piled high with parchment and books. 

Draco laughed. "No actually he got it on pure talent! Where's your spot on the team Weasel?" He asked cruelly. 

Ron slammed his hands on the table. "You, me, wizard duel. This weekend." He snarled into Harry's face.

 Draco shoved his chair backwards and closed the distance between them. "You're on." He hissed. Harry glanced anxiously towards Draco as Ron stormed away.

"Dray, I don't know about this. I've never been in a duel before. Let alone a wizard duel." Harry whispered frantically. His heart was pounding at the mere thought of it.

"It's okay." Draco reassured him, feeling a bit guilty at dragging his friend into it before consulting him. "You just bow, shoot a few non-harmful spells, and then I'll be there as you're second. I'll just be there  to step  in just in case something happens to you. But nothing's going to happen!" He said quickly as Harry's face paled. "It will be okay. You can do this."

Harry nodded hesitantly. "Alright. I trust you." He whispered.

"You really shouldn't, you know." The boys moved away from their hunched position to see Hermione standing in front of them with an armful of books. 

"What's it to you Granger?" Draco sneered. It was a disdainful  sneer;  one he'd perfected from mimicking his godfather.  He knew most pureblood views were ridiculous, but he couldn’t help the tendrils of disgust that poisoned him at the sight  of the muggle-born.

Hermione  trembled but stood her ground. "You really shouldn't do the duel because it's against the rules and you could get seriously hurt!"

Draco scoffed. "It's really none of your business." He snapped. 

She stared at them reproachfully, looking rather like an affronted owl with her bushy brown hair. "It's a bad idea." She repeated before walking off alone. Harry stared after her. 

"She doesn't know what she's talking about." Draco huffed. "Everything will be fine."

Harry nodded but the tight nauseous feeling still had his stomach in knots. He couldn't help but feel something bad was going to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, apologies for the very long wait. Between studying for the Leaving Cert (the exam that determines which university I can actually get into), figuring out what universities I want to go to, several craft projects, dance club, Christmas exams and general life, I'm dying. 
> 
> But I've got the creativity back and the will to actually do things! I'll try to update sooner this time but I can't make promises. Exams come before fanfiction unfortunately. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading! Hope you enjoyed this update and see you all next time, love yoooouuuu!


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this was a long time in the making. But here, I present a late Christmas present of 2k worth of words.

By the time the duel came around, Harry had practically gained no weight because of his constant nerves. He had slept in the dormitory in order to sneak out of the common room easily, however, as he crept through the eerily silent room with Draco and Blaise by his side, it felt wrong.

The absence of the usual crackle from the fire and the usual sound of parchment shuffling made everything feel off. "This is ridiculous." He whispered. "We are Slytherins. Slytherins are cunning and believe in self preservation. This? This is not Slytherin."

"Neither is backing down." Draco hissed. "Now shush." They made it a few torch-lit corridors down from the common room before Harry spoke again. "But that's ridiculously prideful and Gryffindors are the ridiculously prideful ones." Harry reasoned.

Draco rolled his eyes at him. "I know you're nervous. You have no reason to be! I'll be there as your second and Blaise will hex him before he can even say one syllable of a spell if he acts before he should." Draco assured.

Harry eyed him, but fell silent, trusting Draco. He tuned out the nagging feeling that told him to run way back to Severus's quarters, wake him up and get Ron expelled. "Oh god." He groaned.

They crept to the meeting place in silence. At the faintest sound they melted into the shadows, hiding in nooks or behind beautifully woven tapestries. When they finally did arrive, no one else was there. "Gryffindors. Incapable of being punctual." Blaise scoffed. Harry shook his head. "No…this is something else." He said. His pulse beat in his ears, almost visible around his field of vision. A flicker of movement in his peripheral vision made him spin around.

"Ms. Norris!" He warned. "Filch! Run!" Draco shrieked, shoving them all down a random corridor. They ran blindly around corners and down maze-like stone corridors. They stumbled over each other in their haste. The flickering shadows coming from the torches mounted on the walls added to the disorientation and made it all the more terrifying. It seemed like Filch's pattering footsteps followed then down every path no matter how far away they roamed.

"I'M TOO HANDSOME TO DIE." Draco screamed.

"Maybe stop yelling and you'll live." Blaise snapped. "Quick, in here." He shot a spell at a large wooden door and the trio piled against the door. "Those bastards set us up! Weasel does have a brain." Draco gasped. He felt almost woozy. _I really need to exercise more_ he thought. A heavy tugging on his robes demanded his attention and he turned around exasperatedly. "What Harry? If you hadn't noticed, i almost died. And I need to recover whilst questioning my life choices."

Harry pointed silently in front of him. Draco raised his eyes. Blaise squeaked. Then Draco uttered a shrill window-breaking scream just as the large three headed dog snapped its wirey jaws towards them. The abnormally large heads lunged at them, close enough that Harry could see the pristine, brushed, cared for fur covering its hefty heads. Drool flew into the air as the boys scrambled to get out. Razor sharp canines grazed Blaise's sleeve just before the three shoved all their weight against the door and shut it against one of the persistent raving heads.

Harry stared at the unassuming door in shock. Blaise inspected his torn sleeve silently. Draco stared at Harry's feet from his position on the floor. "WHO PUTS A CERBERUS IN A SCHOOL?!"

The next day when the entire little Slytherin troupe entered the Great Hall for breakfast, looking particularly unscathed, one Ronald Weasley couldn't keep the disappointment off his face. And one Draco Malfoy couldn't keep the pretentious smirk off his.

*********  
Time passed by in a blur of classes, Quidditch practice and disheartening searching for therapists. So quickly in fact, that the group didn't find any time to dissect and discuss the encounter before the next magic creature attack.

Hogwarts was always decked out to the nines around Halloween but this year was particularly magnificent. It was like nothing Harry had ever seen. Live bats flew around the ceilings and carved pumpkins burst into song when people passed, while ghosts had fun bursting through walls suddenly and terrorising random students.

There was no classes the day of the Halloween feast. Harry had spent the day doing homework in the common room with Pansy, Blaise and Theo under the watchful eye of a Prefect. Even without Severus's demand to keep an eye on Harry, the Prefects and most of the Slytherin students enjoyed the first year's company. Draco had been Merlin-knows where, probably the library, and Severus had been correcting in his study. Work stopped for no person, even on holidays.

The feast was a sight to behold. Sweets, all kinds, lined the tables until they heaved with the load, practically groaning. Actual dishes were few and far between. Lights twinkled above the mass of students, like stars. They were blotted out from time to time by the dark little bats as they swooped around the high ceiling. The ghosts had fun flying through people and pumpkins floated around the room carved into various grotesque faces.

Dumbledore wore a ridiculous witches hat with real dangling spiders and cobwebs. But the only creepy teacher wasn't there. Before being distracted by all the sugar, Harry had noticed the absence of Quirrell but paid it no heed. Until said teacher burst through the doors dramatically just as a clap of thunder and a flash of lightening occurred. He ran down the middle aisle, turban trailing slightly behind him, then stopped dead in the middle.

He trembled under the hundreds of gazes. "TROLL! In the dungeon." He added. "Thought you ought to know." He promptly dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Utter pandemonium erupted. Students trampled over benches and each other, screaming all the while. Draco screamed in Harry's face before throwing all his food down and scrambling away. "SILENCE!" Dumbledore roared over the din. Like a spell, everyone in the hall froze. "Teachers, with me. Prefects, lead your houses to their dormitories."

As the students formed some sort of organised chaos, Harry pulled Draco aside. "Our dormitories are in the dungeons." He whispered. Draco groaned. "That twat." He began to gather Blaise, Pansy, Theo, Crabbe and Goyle. As many other Slytherins began to come to the same conclusion, Harry overheard some Gryffindors.

"Hermione is still in the bathroom. Should we get her?" Some dark haired girl asked another. The other one waved her hand dismissively. "I'm sure the professors already know. It's not like the Prefects don't know they don't have every one, right? That would be poor management."

Harry groaned. "Draco, Hermione is in the bathroom, she doesn't know there's a troll in the castle." He whispered urgently. "The muggle girl? So?"

"Someone needs to tell her there is a dangerous troll roaming around!" Harry said exasperatedly with a roll of his eyes. "It doesn't need to be us. We don't even know her." Draco said.

"I do. We study together sometimes." Harry admitted. Draco stared at Harry in bewilderment. His pale blue eyes bore into Harry's green ones. "What?" He asked. "Since when? Wait, when have we not been together? Her? You're studying with her? What? When?" He spluttered.

"Dray, not very composed right now." Harry said absentmindedly. He searched for an opening and when he saw one, he pushed through the moving crowd, grabbing onto Draco's arm as he went. He spotted Severus. "Sev- Professor Snape!" He called. Severus turned, robes flaring nicely, and his brow furrowed when he saw the urgency in Harry's eyes.

"Mr. Potter. What's wrong?" He demanded.   
"Hermione Granger- she's a Gryffindor, she's in the girls bathroom, she doesn't know there's a troll!" Harry stressed. Severus straightened up. "I'll get on it. Don't do anything rash." He ordered. He rushed off to Albus, leaving Harry to calm Draco down.

"Albus!" He snapped. "Miss Granger is in the girls bathroom and is uninformed of the situation. Someone must be sent to get her." Severus did not get the worried reaction he was expecting. Albus smiled serenely. "I have someone looking after it." He assured the potions professor. Severus didn't buy it.

"You have a professor getting the girl?" He tried. Albus shook his head, smiled and put his hand on Snape's shoulder. "I have sorted it out Severus." For some reason, Severus wasn't assured.

Meanwhile, Harry was dragging Draco down the corridor. "We don't need to do this. We told Sev!" Draco argued. Harry jerked him forward another few feet. "We are not leaving Hermione to be eaten by a troll." He countered.

"Trolls don't eat people!" Draco exclaimed. "She'll just be bludgeoned horrifically to death!" Harry glared at him. "Sometimes I wonder." He muttered under his breath. Draco dug his heels into the floor, straining against Harry's surprising strength. He was about to complain again when a loud bang sent a jolt up his spine. He turned horrified eyes towards Harry.

"What was that?"  
************  
Severus raced down corridors that were suddenly too long. His robes billowed behind him amazingly but he couldn't appreciate it. Not when he was hurtling towards a ladies bathroom to stop his protege from being killed by a mountain troll.

"I will say this once and once only." He huffed as he ran. "He's too much like Lily." He didn't pause to take in the splinters that remained of the door. He rushed into the bathroom, wand raised, to find a horrific sight.

Cowering under a smashed, leaking sink was Hermione, while Draco was shrieking at Harry from what seemed to have once been a cubicle. Harry, who was holding on for dear life to a troll who was rampaging and wielding a very large club. Severus almost died.

"USE YOUR WAND. YOU'RE A WIZARD, USE YOUR GODDAMN WAND!" Draco screamed at decibels that shouldn't be allowed indoors. Severus could only watch, aghast, as Harry jumped determinedly from the top of the seven foot troll and waved his wand mid-jump. "Wingardium Leviosa!" He yelled. He collided with the floor just as the troll's club was wrenched from its grasp by an invisible force and, to the troll's bewilderment, deftly came down heavily on its head.

The troll tottered forwards and backwards before slowly collapsing to the ground with a loud thump like a felled tree. Harry gaped at Draco. "I used my wand." He said faintly.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER." Harry turned sheepishly to face a positively furious Severus. "Taking on a mountain troll?! Alone?! At the mere age of eleven?!" He thundered. Minerva and Albus skittered in as he yelled and took in the scene with shock.

"YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! This was reckless, completely irresponisble and not fitting of Slytherins!" Severus continued. Hermione sidled over to where Harry and Draco stood side by side with their heads hanging. "It's my fault Professor." She said loudly. "I thought I could handle it alone. Harry and Draco saved me."

"Oh save the theatrics Miss Granger, I know you were in the bathroom by coincidence." Severus sneered. She bit her lip and looked away from his sharp slicing glare. "That being said…." Minerva began as she stepped forwards from the shadows of the ruins. "It was incredibly lucky for three first years to take on a mountain troll and live to tell the tale!"

"Twenty points from you each as a lesson!" Said Severus. "And thirty points to each of you, for defying the misconceptions of the evilness of Slytherin House and saving a life. And to Granger I suppose for…..contributing."

Harry beamed while Draco had donned his usual smug smirk. Hermione pushed back her frizzy hair and stood up straighter. "Thank you Professor." She nodded respectfully to Severus. He merely eyed her disdainfully and groaned, turning on his heel and stalking out of the bathroom.

"That went well." Harry quipped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, please comment and tell me what you think, see you all next time, thank you for reading!


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!! So sorry for the long wait, but the good news is, I have devised a new uploading schedule for once a week hopefully. I'll explain more in the end note so let's get to the chapter!

There were some things that bonded people. Hating the same person. Loving the same people. Liking the same food. Funnily enough, defeating a troll had the same effect.

After the Incident, Hermione had weaselled her way into their group, and although no one except Pansy would admit it, they were becoming quite fond of the bushy-haired girl.  
“We needed another girl.” Pansy had said. “I was going to kill one of the boys at the rate we were going.” 

  
Hermione had been a little bit freaked out by the intensity and general blood lust of the first year Slytherin queen at first. They had become fast friends however. She often studied with them and sometimes she would eat breakfast with them, if the Hall wasn’t too crowded.

The rest of the Houses, except maybe Hufflepuffs, were still prejudiced against the Slytherins after all and Hermione would have been outcast by the lions more than she already was if it got out that she was friends with Slytherins. 

  
One early morning, Harry was studying quietly in his favourite armchair in the common room. There was a quiet buzz of chatter, mixed with the sweet shuffle of pages. As Harry became absorbed in his Potions, the common room emptied gradually. He was only jolted out of his focused tunnel vision when the door slammed abnormally loudly. 

  
Severus came limping into the room. His already greasy hair was plastered to his face by sweat and his generally pale face was vampire pale; deathly pale. Harry jumped up and rushed towards him. “Severus!” He exclaimed.

  
Snape stared at him. “What are you doing up?” He collapsed into the nearest chair. “You should be asleep.” His robes shifted open, revealing his bloody mangled trouser leg.

Fresh blood dripped onto the stone slabs of the floor. Harry stared at the wound in horror.   
“What…what have you done?” He whispered. His hands trembled and his eyes were wide and unfocused as he watched the blood ooze. “I’m alright. A student merely caught me with a nasty hex as I broke up a duel.” 

  
Harry couldn’t stop staring. The ruby liquid captured his attention. So much so that he didn’t even realise he had been pressing his nails into the palm of his hands until Severus smoothed them out. His dark eyes commanded Harry’s own. 

  
“I already went to see Madam Pomfrey. She gave me the required treatment and a sharp reprimand about being more careful.” Severus explained.

Harry shook his head. His dishevelled mop shook in a way that would have Severus telling him to brush his hair if it was any other situation. 

  
“You’re always careful.” Harry almost argued. He narrowed his eyes at his professor. Severus simply met his gaze evenly. 

  
“I’ve been distracted as of late.” He admitted. Harry couldn’t deny that Severus did look tired. Blue-grey-purple bags hung under his dull eyes. His paleness wasn’t only due to his injury, a grey tinge washed out his pinched face.

After a moment of silence Severus let Harry’s hands go. He stood up, swaying slightly, and limped over to the door linking his quarters to the common room.

  
Harry gazed heavily after him. “Can I sleep in my room tonight?” He asked. Severus’s glance softened when he noticed Harry’s still unnerved state. He nodded. Like when Harry had first arrived, Severus gently pulled the covers over him and left with a murmured goodnight.

  
When Severus lurched into his kitchen, gagging for a cup of tea, Poppy was waiting at his dining table. He rolled his eyes. With a flick of his wand he turned the kettle on. Poppy raised one eyebrow when he didn’t attempt conversation. She sighed, primly folded her arms and said, “You need to decide on a therapist for Harry.”

  
No preamble, just right in there. “I don’t think they’re good enough.” He sniffed. Poppy fought the urge to smash her head against the polished table. Since the start of this search it was the same thing over and over again. 

  
“Well, there is one more we haven’t discussed. A new therapist, from the Netherlands, has moved to Hogsmeade. Quite the catch and incredibly lucky to have her here so close.” She said. Her razor-edged eyes bore into him. Severus hid his sneer behind his mug of scalding tea. Madam Pomfrey's care of and fondness for Harry had earned her his respect and he made more of an effort to be more hospitable towards her.

  
He didn’t answer straight away. He was caught. On the one hand, he agonized over finding the right therapist for Harry. He needed only the best, and the fact that he needed anything in the first place with regards to therapy was horrendous but he had moved past his anger somewhat. Or at least, pushed it to the side for now, for Harry’s sake. 

  
On the other hand, the search for a therapist was taking too long and Harry needed one soon. He may seem to be better but he compartmentalized. And while that was fine for now, his trauma went deeper than anyone knew. He was torn. However, Harry’s wellbeing came first.

  
“What are her credentials?” He asked finally. Swiftly, Poppy pulled out a file like a seasoned detective. It flipped open onto the first page. 

  
“A Bachelors in Psychology from Maastricht and a Masters in Clinical Psychology in the same university. She was offered an apprenticeship with Daniel Radboud, the most prestigious clinical psychologist in the country, after graduating top of her class. She's now branched out and started her own practice, opening a small office in Hogsmeade.”

  
Severus looked through her file. A nondescript generic photo didn’t reveal much. Long brown hair in a ponytail, green eyes and a blue jumper. Her qualifications were listed below it and Severus couldn’t deny they were impressive. 

  
Poppy waited. The air felt heavy. It hung like weights and was tense, almost buzzing with tension. “Alright. A trial appointment.” Severus agreed.

***********  
A few mornings after, Severus called Harry in before breakfast. He was dressed in his green Quidditch robes that for once, didn’t drown him. A match was happening between Slytherin and Gryffindor. As expected, students had been gearing up for it for weeks.

  
Pent up aggression between the two houses had resulted in several altercations in the corridors. Several students had been sent to the hospital wing. The sooner his snakes beat the idiots the better, if you asked Severus. 

  
Harry had gained the ten pounds he had needed to in order to play the match as Seeker. “As reward for doing what I asked, and as celebration for making seeker,” began Severus, “I have gotten you this.” He held out a long parcel wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string. Harry gasped quietly.

  
“Is this…?” He held his hand reverently over the package. Severus nodded and he attacked the wrapping, a shiny polished broom handle falling out.

The scent of broom polish filled the air. Harry gaped at the Nimbus 2000 sitting in his lap. Severus smiled at his speechlessness.

  
“Wow, Sev, this is…..this is amazing.” He huffed in awe. He jumped up and hugged the older man unexpectedly, bowling him over with not only the affection but also the old nickname. It had been so long since he had last heard it. The last time, it came from a different set of lips entirely. From Lily.

  
Harry wasn’t oblivious to Severus’s sudden stiffness but he decided to gloss over it for now. With one last beaming smile over his shoulder, he ran out of the room, broom held aloft proudly.

  
The other students paid no heed to him other than a fond rolling of the eyes. While it wasn’t very Slytherin to be too emotional, first years had a bit of leeway in that department, especially Harry. Draco turned around on the steps with a befuddled expression. 

  
“Draco! Look!” Harry cried. He thrust the already beloved broom at Draco. Draco’s mouth fell open and a very un-Malfoy-like squeal dropped from his lips before he could stop it. “A Nimbus 2000!” He let out a short puff of breath. 

  
“Where did you get this?” He wanted to know. Harry shrugged nonchalantly. He basked in the slight jealousy. He had never had anything that anyone would be jealous over and he glowed. “Severus got it for me.” Harry explained.

  
“We have to show the others.” Draco beamed almost as wide as Harry.

The rest of the morning before the match was spent fawning over the broom and being fawned over. The other first years were highly impressed and boastful about it, and the older students were quietly impressed. Even a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws wandered over to look at it. 

  
Ron Weasley and his cohorts, Dean and Seamus, were red in the face and blind with jealousy. They scowled over at the busy Slytherin table. Draco sat up haughtily and stared at them with a smug grin.

Harry rolled his eyes at his best friend but couldn’t help sticking his tongue out at Ron. Childish and petulant, yes, but it worked. Ron went as red as his hair and stalked out of the Hall. 

  
Harry jumped when a hand clamped onto his shoulder. Fred grinned at him. “Great broom Harry!” He said. George beamed down at him from the opposite side. “We're Beaters.” George said proudly. They winked at Harry simultaneously. 

  
“May the best house win eh?” Fred nodded and they walked off with a tip of an invisible hat. Draco sneered. “Weirdos.” 

  
“Hey,” Harry frowned, “I like them.” Draco rolled his eyes but dropped it. Pansy draped herself over him. “Good luck Harry. Beat them with the broom for me, will you?” She grinned at him like a Chesire cat, casually showing sharp canines and Harry was suddenly glad he was her friend.

  
**********

  
Students began to fill up the stands. Loud chatter burst over the tall stands and already chants began to form, egging on each team before they were even out. Waiting down in the changing room, Harry felt monstrous butterflies trying to eat him alive from the inside out. Flint took him by the shoulder and smiled at him, but the effect was ruined by his unfortunate teeth. 

  
“Don’t worry.” He said in an attempt to calm him down. “My first match went fine. Can’t even really remember it really.”

  
“Because it went by so fast?” Harry asked hopefully. Flint shook his head thoughtfully. “Got hit in the face with a Bludger. That’s how this happened.” He pointed at his teeth. Harry gulped anxiously. “C-couldn't you have fixed them with magic?” Harry asked.

  
Flint threw his head back and laughed. “I could have done, yeah. Pomfrey tried to. But then I wouldn’t have a memento from my first game and besides, it’s the mark of a good player. It shows I’m not scared to have a little tussle or dive into the fray; I’ve been smashed in the face but I’ve learned from it and it hasn’t happened again. There’s a reason I’m captain. I’m a damn good player.”

  
Harry goggled at his surprisingly decent captain. Flint smirked. “Let’s go!” He said to the rest of the team. The air crackled with anticipation. Hyped up, they filed out of the room and onto the pitch.

After a brief handshake with Oliver Wood where they tried to liquidize the bones in each other’s hands, they kicked off.

  
The Nimbus flew like a dream and Harry circled the pitch happily before focusing in on the game. The game quickly became a nightmare. Players hitting each other and holding nothing back, Beaters using full force and often resorting to only the bats. Harry could see Fred and George in the fray, circling the new Gryffindor Seeker before darting off after Bludgers with determined war cries.

  
“HARRY, PAY ATTENTION!” Draco screamed from the stands. He jumped up and down furiously beside Blaise and Pansy, screaming loudly and cursing at Harry’s general lack of attention.

Harry flashed a thumbs up and began to search for the Snitch in earnest. He noticed the Gryffindor Seeker tailing him closely.

  
He began to dive suddenly and unexpectedly to throw him off. After three distractions, the other seeker flew off in an annoyed huff. Harry laughed shortly. A small golden shimmer in his peripheral vision had him darting after the Snitch.

  
Out of the blue, his broom jerked. Harry stared at the handle in bewilderment. “Woah!” He clutched on for dear life as it began to buck like a bull. Draco watched in horror as Harry’s broom tried harder and harder to throw him off and plummet him to his death. “Someone’s cursed that broom.” He hissed. 

  
“I know who it is!” Hermione gasped, appearing out of the crowd like a ghost. Draco glanced at her in shock. “Granger what are you doing? Wait, where are you going? Granger!” He yelled after her but she melted back into the crowd. He turned back to Harry desperately. “GET YOURSELF TOGETHER POTTER!” 

  
Harry glared at him. “I'M TRYING!” He roared. He wrestled with the broom in mid-air with everyone watching on in shock and horror. A kerfuffle in the teachers stand went unnoticed when the broom stopped instantaneously. Harry screamed as he was pitched over the broom handle.

He crashed into the ground and tumbled over himself.

  
With his head pounding and a sick feeling in his stomach, he sat up woozily. “Oh my Salazar, he’s going to be sick.” Pansy shrieked.

As if on cue, Harry retched into his hands. Everyone groaned in disgust. Harry heaved again and a cool heavy weight settled into his palms. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt a shudder run through him.

  
Draco was the one who caught the glint of gold in his hands. “YOU IDIOT YOU'VE SWALLOWED THE SNITCH!” He screamed. “OPEN YOUR EYES HARRY!” 

  
Harry’s eyes popped open comedically in shock. There, in his palms, reflecting the golden rays of the afternoon sun, shining dimly like a halo was the Snitch. He stared at it wordlessly. He looked up at the silent stands.

“We've won, right?”  
 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope you enjoyed this update. Now, news. As I mentioned, I've devised a new update schedule of once a week. I have reorganised myself and have planned out five more chapters along with the reorganisation. 
> 
> I am in the middle of editing the other chapters and have them all combined to create one huge one on my phone so I can read through it and make sure it's right and runs together smoothly if that makes sense?
> 
> The route I'm taking after school means that I don't have as big a pressure on me for the stupid points system we have here in Ireland. Now that my mock exams are over, and most of my hardcore study is out of the way, I can write again!!
> 
> I'm also on a midterm break so I'm hoping to get two chapters written in advance.
> 
> So hopefully, a chapter a week and I've got roughly 10/11 chapters left till the end!! I have so many ideas and plot left. See you next week!!


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUCKING WRITER'S BLOCK GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK. When you have all these ideas and can't put them down on paper cause you've realised, hold on, I'm actually not good at this and all I've done so far is crap! AND. THE. CHARACTERS. WON'T. FUCKING. DO. IT. And you've realised, hold on, you're actually pretty bad at this whole character development thing. Whoopdefuckingdo you can describe things. Well done, you can describe things really well but advancing a plot? Character development? Remembering little details and actually making people outside of your two main characters exist outside of one fucking sentence? Haha who needs that? Oh right, writers and READERS WHO READ YOUR PILE OF CRAP.
> 
> Alright, hope you enjoy this filler. It feels like a filler. Did I want to write more? Yes. Did the words want to happen? No. Did I cry and slam my head into my keyboard? You don't need to know that.

The celebration party raged in the Slytherin common room till the early hours of the morning. While general decorum was to be maintained outside the common room, inside it, any excuse for a loud party was allowed. It was different from other parties in that it wasn’t too raucous but it was still a far cry from the elegant parties held by their elite parents.

  
Butterbeer had been snuck in by some of the older students who loved the win for their house. Sweets littered the tables in bowls of the finest cut glass and green and silver bunting floated above them all around the room. Occasionally, a burst of silver and green confetti would rain down onto the party goers. Music seemed to appear from nowhere, the Weird Sisters an ultimate fan favourite.

  
 Harry wasn’t much of a fan of all the attention he was given, but Draco flourished under the praise. He strutted around the room like a peacock with Harry on his arm.

That is, until Snape slammed open the door at two am and glared at them all. “Need I remind you that there is a Potions test tomorrow? If anyone gets less than an outstanding, as is expected of you all, there will be detention. You have a busy day tomorrow so I suggest you all go to bed.” He glowered at them all before turning on his heel and disappearing with a swish of his robes.

  
They dispersed rather quickly after that. Nobody was willing to face a dip in their grades and Snape’s wrath on top of that. It was preposterous to even think it, but that evening, there were more than a few first years who stayed up to study.

There was never really a chance of a low grade because like the Ravenclaws, they prided themselves on their intelligence but no one wanted to risk it.

  
As for Harry, he really was busy the next day. He had his first appointment for therapy. When they climbed into bed, he couldn’t get to sleep. His brain whirred in his head, refusing to be quiet, but it wasn’t long till Draco clambered onto the bed. 

  
He pulled the drapes around the bed closed and whispered a spell towards them.

"Muffliato.” He explained at Harry’s questioning glance. “Father taught me it, it keeps people from listening in.” Harry was impressed. 

  
 He sat up and scooched backwards giving Draco more room to sprawl. The boy was like a cat. He took up all the room but Harry didn’t really care. This was a common occurrence. They usually talked late into the evening or read or did something because neither of them slept till the early morning unless they were really tired. So, it just made sense to hang out together. 

  
“How are you feeling for tomorrow? Draco asked. He grabbed a book from the stack on Harry’s bedside and opened it to his bookmark. He glanced at Harry, who shrugged. 

  
“I don’t know.” He said honestly. “I can see the advantages of going to a therapist. Fixing all this,” he gestured to his head, “would be great. But telling someone all my problems? It just feels wrong.” He crossed his legs.

  
Draco closed his book and sat up as well. “This could be good. The Dursley’s were monsters Harry and what they did had to have impacted you in some way. For the most part you’re emotionally resilient, which is good to a certain extent but you don’t want to push it all away. That’s detrimental.”

  
Harry rolled his eyes and fell backwards, his hair spreading out over the pillow haphazardly and he stared at the ceiling. “Dray, you sound like you’ve swallowed a textbook. Again. What did you do, raid the library for psychology books?” He asked wryly.

  
“No!” Draco exclaimed in offense. He paused. “I raided Severus's library.” He replied. Harry rolled his eyes again. 

  
“You’re eleven Draco, you shouldn’t be raiding any place for psychology books!” Harry said exasperatedly. As much as he appreciated Draco caring about him, he didn’t want to throw all his issues on his best friend. 

  
“You’re eleven too! You shouldn’t be dealing with this!” Draco countered with an angry thump of his fist on the heavy bed covers and blankets. Harry couldn’t argue with that.

  
“Well, I didn’t have a choice.” He said instead. “You do. You don’t have to deal with all this if you don’t want to.” Halfway through the almost argument he had found himself in a sitting position again and he stared half angrily and half beseechingly at Draco, who shook his head slowly.

  
“Of course I do.” He said softly. “You’re my best friend.” Draco shrugged his shoulders to punctuate the sentence. Harry floundered wordlessly for moment.

“Now,” Draco said, “How far are you on that Charms essay? I’ve finished it but I’m not sure how reliable one of the books was as a source.” 

  
Like that, simply and effectively, the conversation moved on and they spent the rest of the evening checking their schoolwork together.   
****************  
Harry woke up to find Severus hovering over him, casting a Tempus and holding a stack of toast. “Harry, it is almost time to go.” He said in a quiet murmur. 

  
The rest of the dormitory was empty.

Because of his appointment, Harry had been excused from classes that day to “deal with the day’s events” which he thought was preposterous.

He would much rather be in class but he had Draco swear to make copies of his notes and pass on all the homework. And no one could argue with Albus Dumbledore when he really got going. If he said no classes, no classes it was.

  
Harry sat up, fighting a yawn. “What time is it?” He asked as he rubbed his eyes and began to potter about.

Severus cast another Tempus. “Almost two in the afternoon.” He replied. “You missed breakfast and lunch.” He added with a disapproving tone colouring his voice. 

  
Harry took the toast with a grateful nod. As he munched, he began to pull on some clothes. Severus sat on the end of his bed after making it with a wave of his wand. “How are you feeling for your upcoming appointment?” He probed carefully.

  
Harry shrugged as he tugged a jumper over his head, which was a rather hard thing to do. ‘’Okay. I already talked with Dray about it last night. It’s going to be weird talking to someone about all my problems, but I guess I’ll have to deal with it. What does emotionally resilient mean?’’

  
Severus wasn’t taken aback at the question. He was not an idiot; he knew Draco was stealing his books. He would have to talk to him about his technique; getting caught was ridiculous at this stage. 

  
‘’Well, resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress.’’ He responded. Harry crooked a grin and stifled a laugh. 

  
‘’Now I know where he gets the textbook from.’’ He smiled. Severus sneered with no malice. He stood up, his robes swishing and reminding Harry of bat wings. ‘’Hurry up.’’ He ordered.

  
Harry finished yanking up his sock. ‘’Ready!’’

  
They walked down to Hogsmeade in silence. With each step towards the wizarding village, an uneasy bubble of nerves roiled in Harry’s stomach. The sharp air bit his face and he couldn't help but wish he had brought a hat or a scarf. Their footsteps crunched in the frost, reminiscent of an icy lake cracking under their shoes.

  
After a short but freezing walk, they arrived at a generic house near the edge of the village. Harry lingered outside for a moment. ‘’We can go to Honeydukes after this right?’’ He asked tensly.

  
‘’Yes.’’ Severus replied softly. ‘’But for now, we need to go inside.’’ 

  
Harry stared at the cheery red door in turmoil. He reluctantly reached out a hand and opened the door.  
**************

  
They did indeed go to Honeydukes afterwards. Therapy hadn’t been like Harry expected. He had expected maybe a stark white room with a hard backed chair and a chaise longue for him to lie on and express his misery. Instead the room was a clear blue and there were two squishy armchairs by a fireplace that banished the bone deep could inside him.

  
Sarah was nothing like he expected either. Her face was round and cheerful, with a welcoming smile set firmly on her pink lips. She had greeted him warmly and with a hug after checking to see if he was okay with it. Then she had taken out some biscuits.

  
She was a very nice woman, he had decided as he sat in the cosy armchair, cushion squished against his lap, a plate of biscuits balanced precariously on the arm of the chair. He hadn’t expressed his misery as he expected. 

  
Instead, she had asked him about his hobbies and what he liked to do. What his favourite subject was at school. What his friends were like, and Harry found himself inserting the odd thing from his past. Like how, he didn’t have any friends back then but his friends now were great albeit a bit annoying sometimes. Like all people were.

  
Towards the very end, Sarah had asked only one question about the Dursley's but Harry had ended up telling her more than he usually would tell someone, even Severus. She just seemed so accepting and open.

Before he left she had said, “Today was just an introduction. Soon, we'll get to the harder stuff and it won't be easy to rehash but I'll be here and we'll talk through it at your pace. We will discuss coping mechanisms and work on recovery and I will push you but not to an extent I think you wouldn’t be able to manage. Alright?”

  
Harry told Severus all this in-between bites of chocolate. The professor listened intently and felt relief that Harry was so at ease after his session. In all honesty, Severus hadn’t known what to expect. If it continued this way however, he would be very grateful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. *sob* Anyway, this is done, it's out, it's crap but from now on it'll be better! The universe will love you and you'll be able to write again. UNIVERSE.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Well that schedule went to shit immediately. But I have an extra long chapter here for you guys, that not only advances the plot but also gives fluff! Whaaaaat?
> 
> I've even started on the next chapter already! Whaaaaaat? Uh huh. Be proud. Hope you enjoy, please like and comment and hope you enjoy!

With the colder weather, came Harry's favourite time of year. Christmas. He had never gotten the best presents or the best treatment with the Dursley’s of course but it was still a time of year where people were kinder, and generosity and goodwill were abounding. 

Hogwarts, as predicted, had been decked up to the nines. The portraits sung Christmas carols as you passed, albeit a bit drunkenly, and the suits of armour had taken to jumping out at people suddenly yelling “I AM THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST!” and scaring students so much, one girl burst into tears.

Twelve of the biggest Christmas trees Harry had ever seen lined the Great Hall. All of them glimmered with what people suspected were real fairies (Although no one knew how Hagrid managed that), baubles, bunting and every Christmas decoration known to man.

Apparently, there were going to be popcorn garlands too, but the teachers had the great idea of enlisting students to help and, magically, the popcorn disappeared, and no one knew where it went.....

Harry and Draco were sat in the common room with a book between them. Usually they would be outside, but it had gotten too cold for even the Quidditch fanatics to be outside whipping around on their brooms.

Draco had been all for Gobstones but Harry had piqued Draco’s interest about a book Harry had been wanting to read for ages, in that sly Slytherin way he used that no one expected of the small innocent little child. And so, things were peaceful. 

Pansy was off Merlin knew where with Hermione, plotting some dastardly deed for world domination probably. Theo was trying to charm a frog to expel singing bubbles and Blaise, well, he was charming the pants off several girls. Trying to, at the very least. Peaceful.

Classes had almost come to an end but with the holidays just around the corner no one expected any work to get done. As long as students kept relatively quiet, professors were more than okay with not making them work.

Severus popped his head in at odd moments to check on Harry. Of course, he would never admit that, he only said he was making sure that no one set the common room on fire again.

Snape would never say it, but he marvelled at Harry’s ability to move past what the Dursleys had done to him. He wasn’t completely over it, and maybe he never would be, but he was a long way away from what he had been like at the start of September. 

Harry no longer flinched too much at raised voices. He spoke with his friends without hesitation and trusted them and wasn’t doing too badly in the crowded hallways. Therapy seemed to be working. The little kid had brightened up. An unidentifiable gloom that no one, even Harry himself, had noticed had lifted. Now all that needed to happen was for things to stay that way.

But, of course, the universe hated Severus and seemed determined to make him grey before 50. No sooner had the unusual comforting peace settled over the usually chaotic common room when Albus Dumbledore strode in with not one, but three Gryffindors behind him.

The bright magenta robes he wore glittered with stars and clashed horribly in the green room. The highlighter hue bled into student’s eyes horrifically, some claiming temporary blindness, while others mentally added rid the world of magenta to their list of plans for once world domination had been achieved.

Students stared at him stoically with disguised disgust. Not only was he a walking circus, he had dragged lions into the snake den. That flaming red hair couldn’t possibly be missed.

Ronald Weasley was standing in the middle of the Slytherin common room. 

Draco and Harry immediately sat up. Gone was the relaxed posture. Their nemesis was standing in their common room; this was unacceptable.

Albus smiled and clapped his hands joyfully as Severus, who had sensed the disdain oozing from his house like a river of sludge, appeared. 

‘’Severus! There you are. I ran into Misters Weasley, Finnegan and Thomas on my way here. They were helping Hagrid with some errands but needed more help and I immediately thought of Harry and Mr. Malfoy.’’ The headmaster beamed, oblivious to the frigid atmosphere around him. Harry and Draco shared a look. Was this man an idiot? 

From everyday taunts and insults, to that godforsaken wizard duel that lead to almost being eaten by A FRICKING CERBERUS, it was obvious. The two groups hated each other. Severus glanced at Harry, who raised an eyebrow. The look said it all. 

“I am afraid, Headmaster, Harry and Draco shall be indisposed for the evening.” Severus replied smoothly.

Albus feigned shock. “Whatever for?” He had to stop himself from gritting his teeth. He just needed the three together was that too hard to ask for.  

“Potter and Malfoy have detention. The two were caught duelling and so I have given them detention.” Severus almost shrugged.

Several Slytherins rolled their eyes. Severus giving any of his snakes detention was as likely as Dumbledore suddenly shouting, “I’m actually manipulative and scheming!” at the top of his lungs from the Astronomy Tower.

Smiling brilliantly, Albus waved his hands. “Boys will be boys Severus. Come now, you can’t tell me you didn’t get into a few scuffles as a student here. I’ll just rescind their detention and then they can help!’’

 “They’re sick.” Severus immediately said. Albus’ eye twitched. 

“Severus, they look perfectly healthy to me.” He laughed. Draco immediately started to cough, and Harry clutched his stomach dramatically. 

As this was all happening, Ron, Seamus and Dean couldn’t help moving a little bit closer to each other. It was one thing to lash out at the Golden Boy in the halls where Gryffindors had Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs on their side. It was a whole different ball game to suddenly be ushered into the living space of the people they bullied every day. Alone. 

Slytherins seemed to grin maliciously at them and Ron had this strange urge to call for his mother. 

Albus pinched the bridge of his nose while straining to keep a smile on his face. “Severus, Harry has not developed dragon pox!” He argued.

Severus gestured angrily to where Harry, Draco, Blaise and Theo were all groaning and clutching their stomachs. They did make for quite convincing ill people. The skills of a Slytherin.

Others had caught on to the game quickly and soon the common room was filled with ‘ill’ students. 

Dumbledore deftly dodged a student who tried to ‘grab’ onto the hem of his robes with a plan to ‘accidentally’ burn them. Surveying the almost Shakespearean drama happening in front of him, he gave up. 

“Well.” He began jovially. “I can see rather a few of your students are indisposed. I shall call for Poppy immediately and I hope you all get better soon.”

He turned to grab the Gryffindors and leave, only to find a group of Slytherins had circled them harmlessly and were watching in amusement as the three boys broke down.

Seamus was threatening to blow everything up. “I’ll do it! Boom! Right up!’’ He screamed.

Ron waved his wand threateningly. And Dean, well, Dean contemplated asking for a transfer to Durmstrang. On the other hand, maybe Beauxbatons. 

Albus sighed.   
********  
“I can’t believe I missed terrorising the Weasel!” Pansy lamented.  
It was a few days after The Incident and the group were in the library, doing the homework set for them for Christmas break.

Classes had ended and most students had gone home but as Severus had work to do, Harry was still at Hogwarts for Christmas. He didn’t mind. It just meant that he could use the library as much as he wanted, and he could explore the castle while Severus worked.

Draco, Pansy, Blaise, Theo and Hermione had immediately decided to stay too. They couldn’t deny they missed their parents, but they had Christmas with their family every year, and they couldn’t leave Harry alone on his first proper Christmas. Crabbe and Goyle had been dragged into the plan too, but they didn’t protest too much.

Their parents had agreed immediately of course. It was rather useful, after all, for their children to become friends with The Boy Who Lived.

Harry, however, had felt bad that they would be missing Christmas with their families, and Severus had begrudgingly set up the Floo Network in the common room to connect to their homes so that they could Floo in and out as they pleased. Now, a few days into Christmas break, Harry didn’t think he could get any happier.

“We didn’t even do anything.” Theo reminded Pansy. “We just pretended to be ill.”

Pansy gazed dreamily at her Charms textbook. “But to see Weasel’s terrified expression.” She sighed longingly.

Crabbe glanced at her and then the others. 

“I can’t be the only one terrified of her right?” He asked carefully. The others shrugged and a bookbag dropped heavily beside him, spooking the living daylights out of him.

“She is terrifying.” Hermione agreed.

“Hermione, please.” Pansy grinned with a coy blush. The Gryffindor shrugged easily and made Crabbe scoot over so she could sit down. Harry beamed up at her from where he lay on Draco.

His feet were in the boy’s lap, his legs a table for Draco’s own textbook. Harry had gotten their Charms essay finished already, so had taken the time to read his new novel and Draco had seemed to be a very comfy pillow. He was.

“What are you doing here so early?” He happily asked Hermione. She shoved her hair out of her face impatiently. 

“I was thinking about-”

“When are you not thinking?” Blaise interrupted with a good-natured eye roll.

Hermione waved him off. She had obviously figured something out and practically vibrated from the glee. 

“I was thinking about the troll again and was wondering how it could have gotten into the castle. Hogwarts is heavily enchanted, no Muggles can get in. I highly doubt there was a mountain troll just wandering the Scottish moors that happened upon a castle and thought to enter it. So, it would make sense for someone to have brought it in.”

“But who?” Draco wondered. 

“I’m getting there.” Hermione said. “So, someone brought the troll in to the school. But why? I can’t believe a teacher would bring a troll in and let it loose on the castle. It simply couldn’t happen. Wards would have sensed it; they’re keyed to sense danger and a troll’s pretty dangerous. Which means that the troll was already in the castle. It must have gotten loose somehow from wherever it was.”

Everyone had their attention on her. They had all being thinking about the troll and Fluffy and what could be going on in the castle. Of course, they had. But it seemed like Hermione had finally figured it out.

“Who would have brought in two dangerous magical creatures and kept them in a castle doing Morgana knows what in a school filled with thousands of kids?” murmured Pansy. Hermione pointed her finger at her with a snap. 

“That's what I asked myself. Then I remembered that Cerberus you found, it was on a trapdoor, right? So, it must be guarding something. But it’s probably incredibly easy to figure out how to get past a Cerberus. There are probably other traps or guardians. The troll.”

She sat back, pleased with herself, and watched as the others digested what she’d said. 

“It would make sense.” Theo finally decided. “If the Cerberus is guarding something, which it likely is, there has to be other things protecting whatever it is. No fool is going to leave one thing protecting something worth putting a Cerberus in a school.” 

“There has to be other places more secure than Hogwarts.” Blaise scoffed as he crossed his legs.

“Like Gringotts, or the Ministry-” Pansy began.

“No.” Harry said, jolting up suddenly, knocking Draco’s forgotten book to the ground. Draco made a noise of protest.

“Sorry.” Harry apologised as he absent-mindedly picked up the book. “Sorry for interrupting Pans, but Gringotts isn’t secure.”

Pansy, mollified by the apology, stared at him quizzically. “Harry, it’s the most secure place in Britain. Granted, the Ministry has terrible security, especially for a government location, but-”

“No,” He interrupted again, “Gringotts was broken into.” At their shocked gazes he hurried to explain. “When Draco and I went to have tea at Hagrid’s ages ago, I noticed a newspaper on the table, but I never paid any attention to it. I only saw the headline, that Gringotts had been broken into.”

Hermione jumped up, rushed off into the aisles of the library without a word and came back a few moments later holding a Daily Prophet. “Madam Pince always keeps the Prophet.” She explained. When the pages had been spread out on the table, the seven of them craned their necks to read it.

“So, someone broke into Gringotts the day after your birthday Harry, but whatever they were looking for wasn’t there. And now there are dangerous creatures guarding something in the school. It has to be whatever the criminal was looking for.” Draco surmised.

Charms essay forgotten, they all sat back and thought furiously about what they’d just figured out. Then Crabbe asked the question they had all eventually come to. “What makes Hogwarts so much better than a different bank to Gringotts?”

“Dumbledore?” Pansy mused. “For a senile old toad, he is powerful. No one is going to go against him if they don’t have to.” 

“I guess.” Theo shrugged. The others all slowly nodded their assent. Hermione sank into the couch with a sigh. “Seems we’re at a dead end again.” She pouted.

Draco frowned. “As much as I loathe to admit it, the oaf would probably have some idea.” He said. “Who else is crazy enough about magical creatures to get his hands on a Cerberus and take care of it?” 

“We should go talk to him!” Hermione exclaimed. She shot up from the couch, ready to run off on an adventure. Pansy snagged her jumper sleeve before she could rush off. 

“Slow it down, Gryffindor. Us Slytherins have some sense of self-preservation after all. And we’ve got a Charms essay to finish.” She reminded everyone. Crabbe groaned and Blaise aimed a kick at her shins.

“Since when have you been the voice of reason?” He asked incredulously. 

After Pansy landed a sharp jab dead centre to his chest with her elbow, she sniffed haughtily.

“I have just finished painting my nails and they still need to dry. I am not about to ruin them for any chaotic, crazy, unplanned adventure this is likely to take us on. Anyone who has a problem with that can keep quiet.”

She waved her pointed nails threateningly, glistening blood red. Thankfully, no one had a problem with finishing their Charms essay  
***********  
The days passed more or less in the same way, minus the brainstorming over stolen goods, magical creatures and dastardly plots. Those topics quickly left their minds as something else occupied them. Christmas. 

The day had come quicker than anyone had anticipated. It even snuck up on Harry, but he hadn’t been counting down the days as the others had. He hadn’t been expecting much. But he was happily mistaken.

Draco woke him up on Christmas morning by shaking him furiously until Harry swore, he could feel and hear his bones rattling. 

“HARRY IT’S CHRISTMAS, FOR MERLIN’S SAKE, WAKE UP!” Draco yelled. Harry stared blearily at him; he hadn't his glasses on and the blond was a pale blur.

Dressed still in his pale green, star themed pyjamas, Draco stood shaking Harry dramatically, relentlessly, and didn’t stop until Harry loudly announced that he was awake. 

Harry tumbled out of bed with a loud yawn. Snatching up his glasses, he followed Draco out of his room, already missing the warmth of his bed. When he got into the sitting room, he stopped dead in the doorway. His mouth dropped open in shock.

Luscious dark green garlands were strung up on the walls, bright red holly berries dotted in clusters here and there in the dark foliage. A massive tree took up a one full corner near the doorway.

The corner had had to be magically enlarged because whenever Severus walked into his quarters, he got a mouth full of pine branches, but Draco had insisted on the largest tree known to mankind. 

It gleamed with shiny baubles, some glittering with sparkles, and fairy lights in the shape of miniature snowmen were draped around the branches. Tinsel had been insisted upon by Severus and so silver and green tinsel mingled with the long line of fairy lights. A star, polished and glittery, was carefully placed at the top, just brushing the ceiling but that wasn’t the best part.

Presents were everywhere. Piled by the door; under the pointy branches; surrounding the couch. They lay in groups wrapped in mismatching wrapping paper decorated with everything from snowflakes to snitches. Harry swore he could see cartoon reindeer prancing around merrily on pastel orange paper.

When he managed to tear his gaze away from the mesmerising gifts, he registered everyone that was there. Narcissa sat elegantly on the couch while Lucius stood with his hands behind his back by the fireplace. Draco was sprawled on the floor staring intently at the presents. 

Severus was standing by the kitchen entrance holding a breakfast tray filled with all sorts of sweet breakfast treats. He smiled slightly at Harry as he placed the tray on the coffee table.

“Merry Christmas.” He said with a tilt of his head. Harry still gaped at everything, speechless.

“Harry. Presents. Hurry up.” Draco ordered. He had been patient while his friend took everything in, but usually by now he had ripped into half of his gifts already. Now, he had waited too long. Not even waffles with whipped cream and chocolate sauce was enough to tempt him away from his presents.

Harry still stood there completely baffled. Draco could start now, everyone was here.

“Well, go ahead.” He urged. “Open them!” He threw himself down onto the couch beside Narcissa.

“Are you not going to open yours?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. She was impressed at his restraint. Draco mauled everything in sight on Christmas Day and the massacre was usually over within minutes. At this, Harry’s brain went into overload. 

“What?” He managed to say. His head whipped from Narcissa to Severus and Lucius several times as he tried to comprehend it.

Severus frowned. He slowly lowered himself into an armchair. After sharing a troubled look with Lucius, who moved to look at Harry better, Severus voiced something he hoped wasn’t true.

“Harry were you expecting all of these to be Draco’s?” asked Severus calmly. Harry shrugged. His hair, which really needed to be cut Severus noted, flopped into his eyes and he pushed it away from his face.

“The Dursley’s never got me much.” Harry replied honestly. He knew it would elicit some anger in the adults, but Sarah had him working on being more open about what life was like with the Dursley’s.

With Severus and Draco at any rate. He was sure that the others had some inkling about his past, but they had never openly talked about it.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course, they withheld any form of happiness from Harry. It didn’t shock him. It just added fuel to the fire of his very righteous anger. But now was not the time to focus on revenge. For now, Harry needed to experience Christmas like every child should; with presents and a food coma.

“Darling, half of these are yours.” Narcissa said gently.

“Draco insisted that we bring his over too so he could open them with you.” Lucius added with a fond eye roll towards his son. “And of course, some are from us.”

“We couldn’t give you nothing! You’re an excellent friend to Draco and we simply couldn’t not express our gratitude.” Narcissa chided. 

“Now go.” She shooed him towards the magnificently wrapped presents.

Still not believing it fully, Harry launched himself upon the gifts with Draco. From Severus he got rare potions ingredients, several soft sweaters, more than several books on potions and transfiguration, mountains of chocolate and Muggle records. 

When he looked over at Severus in confusion, the man explained quietly, “These were your mother’s favourite bands. She would play them every summer. I’ve charmed them so that they work here, and without the use of a record player. Simply tap them and say musicorum, and they’ll play.”

Severus let out a soft oof as Harry rushed into him for a hug. Harry squeezed Severus’ waist tightly, his chest exploding with a warm feeling. He pulled back and wiped his wet eyes with a beaming smile.

“Thank you.” Harry said quietly, gratitude overflowing in the two simple words.

Hermione had gotten him a broom care kit. Blaise had sent along a ridiculously large Honeydukes hamper. Harry’s sweet tooth was unrivalled in their entire group, and his love for all things chocolate was infamous.

If anyone messed with his secret stash, it was not uncommon to find their hair charmed multi-coloured for a week or to have their shoes burping musical bubbles with every step.

Theo had gotten him a snake that nestled in a small clutch of warm stones under a lamp enchanted to shine sunlight. As soon as he unwrapped the large vivarium, he gasped and squished his face against the glass. 

“His name is Stephen.” He announced immediately. Lifting him out of the vivarium, Harry chuckled as Stephen slithered into his hair and lay there contentedly. His sapphire blue and emerald green scales seemed to shift even when stationary and various hues of the two colours mixed and merged together mesmerisingly.

The rest of his gifts were another sweet hamper from Crabbe and Goyle, a love potion from Pansy, several more books on various interesting subjects from Narcissa and Lucius, and a very large, very soft sweater from Draco, charmed to stay constantly warm.

“This is amazing.” Harry said seriously as he slipped it on. Draco turned red and waved his hand as if to wave Harry's words away. 

“You’re always cold, so I thought this would be good.” Draco said dismissively.

Harry could see how pleased he was with himself though and crushed his best friend in a hug. Narcissa smiled widely at their antics. Once he’d stopped suffocating Draco, Harry gasped and ran out of the room as he remembered something.

He came back with an armful of presents. Severus hurriedly snagged a few before they tumbled to the ground and harry dropped the small bundle beside Narcissa on the couch.

“Your presents!” He announced with a beaming smile. He bustled around handing them out until everyone held one in their hands. “Go on.” He said with a small hand gesture.

Narcissa went first, pulling a delicate chain out of a small wooden, ornately carved jewellery box. A small teardrop glittered on the end of the silver chain and she gasped as it cast small sparkles everywhere when it caught the light. Contrary to popular belief, she much preferred her smaller delicate jewels to the clunky necklaces worn by most purebloods. “I love it.” She declared.

Lucius got a very fancy quill and ink set; one he had had his eye on for a while. “Thank you, Harry.” He said sincerely, a hint of glee seeping into his tone.

Severus opened his carefully, revealing a set of incredibly rare potions books he had been searching for for months to no avail. “How did you?” He asked incredulously.

Harry shrugged as he replied casually, “I found them after a bit of searching. All the guy wanted was an autograph. That was a bit weird,” He added with a slight frown, “But it was a good deal!”

Severus shook his head in disbelief, one finger running down the hard leather spines. “Thank you, Harry, this is amazing.” He nodded his head towards a beaming Harry.

Draco ripped his open excitedly and gave a shriek, that he would deny in later conversations, when custom made quidditch robes fell out. 

The bright green was offset by a gleaming silver that spelled out his name and number. The hem was decorated with what seemed to be stars, and upon closer inspection, made up a repeating pattern of his namesake, the constellation decorating the entire hem. The holes that the ties to hold the robes closed were looped through, were not the normal circular shape. No, these were dragon shaped.

The lining of the robes was incredibly soft and instead of the ratty, thin material that the normal school ones were made from, his robes were made of some sturdy, soft, hardwearing material. In short, they were so much better than the school ones and custom designed to be all about Draco. He loved them.

“I asked Flint if I could tell you. One of the Chasers is basically dying from some illness, something to do with an enchanted necklace I think he said, and is in Mungos for the rest of the school year. Welcome to the team team!” Harry threw his arms in the air with a small tada! 

It took ten minutes to resuscitate Draco.

“Ah, Harry, you seem to have one left.” Lucius commented as he gestured towards the forgotten parcel.

Harry started and pulled a smaller, softer gift towards him. It was wrapped in silvery paper that seemed to reflect rainbows onto the ground. He tugged the string apart and a sinuous piece of cloth fell out. Harry stood up and inspected it, pulling it around him like a blanket.

“Is it a blanket?” He asked the others. He stared at their bug-eyed expressions warily. 

“What is it?” He asked. He twisted and turned to look at his body. “What’s wrong? Is there-where's my body?!”

The blanket and his upper body had disappeared, leaving only feet and a floating head behind. He threw the cloak away from him in shock with a mild shriek

“What the hell is that?!” Harry demanded. He stared at everyone wildly, but they all seemed to be dumbstruck.

“An Invisibility Cloak.” Lucius gasped. 

As he staggered to the couch, Harry was still confused but he got the gist of it. He carefully manoeuvred around the ripped wrapping and various gifts that littered the ground, picking up the seemingly innocent cloth and holding it at arm's length to inspect it.

“So, it turns me invisible?” He asked as he stretched it lightly. “Cool.” His eyes lit up in fascination. As every possible use for it raced through his head, a small folded piece of parchment fluttered out of the cloak’s folds and onto the paper-strewn ground. 

Severus swiftly picked it up before it could get lost among the wreckage. 

“Oh, does that say who it’s from?” Draco asked eagerly. Like Harry, he was picturing all the pranks that could be played on people with the Cloak. Harry passed it to him, and they began to mess around with it, vanishing their heads and arms. 

Severus’ lips pressed together thinly as he read the short note. The pursed expression reminded Harry of Professor McGonagall whenever someone did something stupid. It was usually Seamus, for blowing something up.

“What does it say?” Harry pressed as he moved up onto his tippy toes to see the note. Severus passed it to him obligingly.

“It doesn’t say who it’s from.” Severus said as the note got passed around the room. “It does say that it used to be your father’s.” He directed this to Harry, whose eyes widened in shock. Harry held it up in wonder, staring at it with an almost revering stare. 

As the children became engrossed in their new-fangled gifts, Narcissa and Lucius joined Severus in the kitchen for tea. The waffles and pancakes were mainly for Draco and Harry; they had already had breakfast at a much more reasonable time of 7 o’clock.

“It’s obviously Albus’ script.” Narcissa launched into the topic immediately. As she sat down and pulled a steaming cup of tea, courtesy of the house elves, towards her, Lucius nodded in agreement. 

“But why would he send Harry the Cloak? It’s extremely rare, the only one of its kind.” He said with a frown. “Of course, there are mockeries. Cloaks with Disillusionment Charms and whatnot, but that is the only true Cloak of Invisibility. Why not keep it?” He added.

Severus frowned. “There’s only one reason.” He proclaimed grimly. “Harry needs it in order to do whatever convoluted plan Albus needs him for.”  
****************  
Pansy and Hermione arrived later in the day after dinner. The feast had been, well, exactly that. A feast. Roast chicken, turkey and ham, with beef for those who wanted it, reigned supreme on the table. The table itself groaned under the weight of glazed carrots, mashed potatoes, crushed potatoes, roast potatoes, brussels sprouts with cream and bacon and sage and onion stuffing.

Not only were there four different types of meat, there were three different types of gravy. Harry didn’t even know three different types of gravy existed. It goes without saying that Draco and Harry stuffed themselves with food until they couldn’t walk.

All four of them had played a tournament of wizard’s chess until Pansy threw her pawns to the ground after her third defeat and declared the tournament over. The rest of the day had been spent lazing around, with a small friendly quidditch game in the afternoon when Theo and Blaise dropped by. All in all, it had been the best day Harry had ever had. 

But it wasn’t over yet. After Severus and he had hung out together reading their respective books, Severus had brought Harry to bed in his bedroom like he usually did. And Harry grinned at him sleepily like he usually did. 

But as soon as the door closed softly behind Severus, Harry did something he never did.

Instead of rolling over and falling into a content slumber, he jumped out of bed with a quiet laugh of pure glee. He padded over to the box of pillows and blankets beneath his window and pulled out the Invisibility Cloak.

With a devilish grin on his face, and Stephen still lying contentedly in his hair, Harry tugged the Cloak over his unruly curls and enveloped himself in the fabric. He was gone.

“Time for adventure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this even it is Christmas in April.  
> Am I the only one who wants to have Stephen? Just me?  
> Okay.  
> Well, the next chapter should be up next week, now that it's Easter hols sort of. My work load has gone down from a school day + study to just study! Whoop whoop.  
> I swear I had a reason for this note but now I can't remember.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, and please stay safe guys! Stay inside! Okay, covid talk over, I know you're probably sick of hearing about it.  
> See you all next time.
> 
> Oh yeah, next chapter will also be Christmas based, but less emphasis on Christmas day and celebrations, it just happens during Christmas break. And a little bit during start of January classes.
> 
> I REMEMBER WHAT I WANTED TO SAY. I've had to come back and edit as soon as I posted lol. I'm in the middle of properly reading and going through and editing the other chapters and uploading them, I'm on chapter four so far and that's the next one to go up. So yeah, just thought I'd let you guys know. Bye!


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Another 5k chapter for y'all, hope you enjoy this update. A few things happen in this chapter and I hope it's not too much but I couldn't seem to stop writing. It's better than the alternative eh?

Harry drifted his fingers silently across the spines of the books in front of him.

Large bookshelves melted into the darkness above him and surrounded him so that only the musty smell of ancient books and his soft breathing filled the air.

A small splash of warm, incandescent light lit up only three spines at a time, depending on the size of the book, and the rest disappeared into the patch of darkness that enclosed the library.

Dusty tomes filled the stacks to the brink of exploding. Small, tall, short, fat and skinny books were stacked beside and on top of each other. Harry almost feared that if he pulled a book out, the entire shelf would fall out on top of him. 

 Immediately after sneaking out he had gone to the library with the aim of exploring the Restricted Section. It was the one place he couldn’t get to during the day and the idea of the number of controversial books so close to him was ridiculously exciting.

As he browsed the out-of-bounds books, an aura of hidden power thrummed through the spines. Harry knew that dark books mingled among the various genres and that fact was prominent in his mind. One could almost feel the various magics in the air.

He carefully slipped out one heavy, leather bound tome and almost dropped it from the surprise of the sheer weight of it. With a grunt he heaved it onto his knee as he balanced on one foot precariously. A small grin threatened to split his cheeks as he opened the book. 

Without warning, an ear-splitting shriek resonated in the small aisle as a grotesque, warped indent of a face began to push against the words on the page as if they were prison bars. Harry yelled and dropped the book with a heavy thud. As soon as it started, the wailing stopped. 

Harry stared at the book in horror and stumbled away from the leather-bound prison, falling into the bookshelf behind him and knocking several books to the ground.

More shrieking surrounded him, and he clamped his hands over his ears desperately.

“Who’s there?” Filch demanded as he popped out from behind a shelf unexpectedly. A sleeping cap covered his stringy hair and Ms. Norris curled around his ankles hidden by his night gown.

Harry covered his mouth with his hands to stile his labored breathing. His heart was racing, like a rabbit being hunted, and he tried to shrink out of existence as Filch grew closer to him.

Ms. Norris locked her round, yellow eyes onto his frightened ones and Harry prayed that cats couldn’t see through Invisibility Cloaks.

Filch kicked the books closed with one slippered foot. Silence reigned supreme but Harry almost wished the shrieking would return, if only to mask his breathing and thundering heart.

He could feel the start of a panic attack constricting his chest and struggled to remember how to calm himself down. Tears began to slip down his cheeks when a faraway thud echoed through the otherwise quiet library.

“I have you now!” Flich exclaimed, whirling around and dashing off into the darkness.

A slipper dropped behind him in his haste and Harry scrambled out of the aisle before Filch came back to get it.

He rushed through the bookshelves, out of the library and down several corridors that lead well enough away from Filch and his cat. 

Slipping into an empty room, he collapsed against the door and struggled to catch his breath. Idly, he thought about asking Severus for an inhaler. Maybe that would help with his breathing. Is that even how inhalers worked?

 He waited against that cold door until he could finally breathe normally again. His throat was burning but he ignored the sensation. He’d grown used to it by now.

Pushing off the hard surface, he cast his gaze around the room curiously. He hadn’t been in here before and it just then hit him that he had no idea where he was.

Large dusty shapes were covered in large white sheets, like one would see in a house being painted to protect the furniture. Apart from that, the large room was empty. High ceilings made the room seem bigger than it was and there was only one window that let in pale silvery moonlight. The moonbeams glided across the floor and glinted off a grandiose mirror that instantly drew Harry’s eye.

It stood tall and proud despite the dust that had gathered on its gold frame. The gold was peeling slightly, and the mirror itself was slightly rusty around the edges but its clawed feet and intricate inscriptions bore memories of grander days. 

Harry had drifted towards it without even realizing, the Cloak slipping off him and puddling on the floor.

“Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.” He stumbled over the strange words as they fell off his tongue awkwardly. 

He tilted his head in confusion but shrugged as he assumed it was merely a foreign language. Stepping closer, he gazed harder into the mirror frowning when his reflection wasn’t what he expected it would be. 

He stood there, his clothes different, more fitting and a man and woman stood behind him with their hands on his shoulders and smiles on their faces.

The man was tall with unruly hair like Harry’s own and lopsided glasses that covered most of his handsome face. The woman had long, straight red hair and gorgeous green eyes exactly like Harry’s.

More people began to fill the frame. Severus appeared behind his mother and Draco ran in, chattering excitedly about something Harry couldn’t hear but Mirror Harry could. He goggled as Theo, Hermione, Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle filled the frame alongside McGonagall and Poppy.

As he watched, Mirror Harry began to run around and laugh with his friends. Lily, James and Severus chatted happily and laughed in turn at the children.  Harry slid to the ground, eyes glued to the scene and a raptured smile settling on his face.

It wasn’t until sun spilled onto the mirror and obscured his view of the happy family that Harry realized he had spent all night in the Mirror Room. A ball of regret formed in his chest as he pulled the Cloak over him reluctantly. As he slipped out of the room, there was no arguing it. He would return that night.  
********

Severus woke up at seven that same morning with a plan. He and Lucius had decided it would be best to confront Albus instead of letting it slide. He didn’t know what Albus had in store for Harry, but Severus was willing to bet it was nothing good. He was not a gambling man.

At breakfast, he eyed Harry with concern. “Harry, did you not sleep well?” He asked sharply. 

Harry glanced up from buttering his toast nonchalantly. “No, I’m fine.” He shrugged and bit into his toast, crumbs spraying everywhere as he said, “Why?”

Severus didn’t respond. He just nodded and went back to reading the Daily Prophet.

Harry frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. “How did my parents die?” He asked out of the blue.

Severus swallowed his coffee harshly. “Hardly an early morning conversation.” He raised an eyebrow as he quietly soothed his burnt tongue. Harry shifted in his seat and shrugged again.

“Well, no has told me and I think I have a right to know.” He said obstinately. Severus put down his mug. “I mean, you’ve told me about Voldemort and why I’m famous but not how they died. It was because of him wasn’t it. There’s no way he just came to my house and I magically repelled him. He killed them didn’t he.”

Harry’s breath trembled as he confronted Severus with something that had plagued his mind since he had learned why everyone knew the name Harry Potter. 

Severus regarded Harry with an indifferent expression. “This is not the time to get into this.” He told him lowly. 

Harry growled. Whether it was the lack of sleep, or the strong desire to see his parents that had been brought on by the Mirror, he didn’t know but anger boiled in him for the first time since he had arrived at Hogwarts.

“I have a right to know!” He yelled. “When will there ever be a time to get into it? When will there ever be a right time to tell me that my parents were killed?” His eyes were steely fury and he had risen to lean on the table so Severus could see the anger in him.

“Why did he do it?!” Harry continued. He flailed his arms in frustration as Severus refused to answer him. “You can’t just keep this from me! Why did he do it? Why did he kill them and why didn’t he kill me?”

“Sit down.” Severus demanded quietly. Harry yelled wordlessly and as he did, one of his hands struck a plate and it fell to the floor shattering violently on impact.

“Sit down!” Severus thundered. He rose from his chair quickly and suddenly and there was such anger in his dark eyes that it froze Harry on the spot.

“I am not talking to you about this! The Dark Lord killed your parents because he was merciless and ruthless and a demented, twisted madman. Lily died pleading for mercy, and he ignored her because he liked to kill people! He liked to tear away all hope and happiness until there was nothing but despair and death.”

Severus breath came in ragged huffs, immediately regretting his words. He sat back down slowly. “Harry, I am sorry.” He tried to say sincerely.

Harry refused to look at him. His hands formed tense fists at his sides and his entire body trembled like a flame blown in the wind. “I’m going for a walk.” He said declared darkly. 

“Harry, please-” Severus attempted but Harry walked out before he could finish, leaving Severus alone at the abandoned breakfast table.

He didn’t return till lunch where he was quiet and closed off, reminding Severus too much of when he had first arrived. 

Harry was in turmoil. Too many emotions clouded his brain; anger, sadness, regret, guilt and longing to go back to the Mirror formed a ball in his chest so big that he could hardly speak. A sudden and strong desire to see the parents he never knew had consumed him and sadness leeched into all his emotions because he knew that he could never get to know them.

Severus, for his part, didn’t know what to do. His own grief for Lily’s death had never left or abated. He had just managed to keep it hidden under millions of other things, forcing it down to a dark place inside him where he could forget about it. He could admit that he hadn’t reacted well to Harry’s questions.  
He just didn’t know what to do.

“I will be going to see Albus after lunch.” He informed Harry. The boy just nodded and picked at his chicken. Severus fell silent.

 “Are you looking forward to the start of term?” He tried again, cringing at the attempted small talk but there was nothing else he could think of doing.

 “Yeah. I’m glad to be getting back to work and seeing everyone again.” Harry replied shortly.

Severus sighed and pushed off the table. He could tell this wasn’t going anywhere and he made the wise decision of letting it be for the moment. With a small goodbye, he set out for Albus’ office with another sigh. 

He had been called for a meeting earlier that day after Harry had stormed out. While he despised their meetings, Severus couldn’t help but feel a small sense of relief that Albus had decided to call upon him. While Harry would probably have avoided him for the rest of the afternoon, the meeting would keep Severus from thinking about that morning. 

It would also prevent him from delving into memories he would rather ignore.

When he arrived at the headmaster’s office, the man was standing at one of his windows. He was dressed in a more somber attire of dark burgundy and had his hands clasped behind his back as he contemplated the empty grounds. His beard had grown somewhat and fell to near his collarbone.

For a few minutes neither of them spoke. Albus sighed heavily as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. To him, it felt like it did. “Severus, thank you for coming.” He finally began.

Severus nodded. Albus moved from his window to his desk, sitting down gracefully in his high-backed chair. He gazed at Severus seriously over his half-moon spectacles and his sharp stare cut through him like a knife. 

“I need you to keep an eye on Quirinus.” He said. “He has been acting rather strange as of late and with the presence of the Stone in the school, I can’t let any odd behavior go unchecked.”

“I am not a spy any longer, Albus.” Severus reminded him sharply. 

“Yet you are still in my debt.” Albus retaliated underhandedly. They stared at each other silently and unblinkingly until Severus looked away and nodded. Albus waved his hand to dismiss him but just as he was about to leave, Severus turned around.

“Why would you send Harry the Cloak?” He asked tiredly. 

Albus steepled his fingers before his mouth and tilted his head. “I thought Harry would like something from his father.” The old man replied.

Severus tried to gauge how honest he was being but could find no outward trace of lying. He didn’t dare try Legilimency.

“Merry Christmas Severus.” Albus added as he walked out the doors.  
**********  
Harry did indeed go back to the Mirror that night. Like before, he spent the entire night sitting in front of it watching his wildest dreams play out before his eyes.

He returned the next night as well for the third time. 

Things had been strained between him and Severus ever since the fight and that alone made Harry uneasy. Severus had always been a solid presence in his short time with him. He could go to him for help, if he needed something or if he just felt like it. So being estranged for even a short amount of time was discombobulating.

Unlike the other two nights, Harry wasn’t alone. When he slipped into the room with bated breath, he was confronted by the presence of Albus Dumbledore as soon as he tugged off the Invisibility Cloak. Harry froze.

He knew the Mirror was hidden for a reason and it was most definitely out of bounds.

He waited for a sharp reprimand from the Headmaster, but it never came. Instead Albus smiled genially at him and stared at the mirror idly.

“I can see why you would choose to come back here Harry. It is indeed a thing of wonder.” He said in his smooth voice. It was a strange voice really. Smooth with a slight old-man-croak, yet it was obvious just upon hearing his voice that he could command authority from even the rebellious of people.

Harry rubbed his stinging eyes as he hovered around the mirror, inescapably drawn towards it. 

“I ask you not to come here again Harry.” Albus told him. He fixed Harry with a stern gaze over his spectacles. “Tomorrow the mirror will be moved to a new home and I urge you not to look for it.” 

“What does it do?” Harry asked. “It shows me my parents. But I know they’re dead and they’re not coming back.” He added bitterly. 

Albus watched him sadly. He knew what it was to lose family and felt a pang of pity for the small boy. He looked so burdened by the world, his shoulders too small to hold the weight Albus knew he would have to bear.

“The happiest man in the world would see only himself, as he is.” He answered cryptically. 

Staring at his family, his forehead wrinkled as he thought hard. “So, it shows you what makes you happy?” He wondered slowly. 

“It shows you your deepest desire.” Said Albus simply. Harry glanced at him but Albus still eyed the Mirror watchfully.

“What do you see?” Harry inquired. 

It took Albus a while to reply and when he did, he smiled at Harry gently. “I see myself holding a particularly nice set of socks. Now, I think it’s time for you to go to bed.” 

As Harry left with a final longing glance toward the Mirror, Albus sat back down on the windowsill to stay by the Mirror a bit more. “The happiest man alive.” He murmured.

Harry slipped back into the common room, dead on his feet. Nearly three nights of no sleep was catching up to him and he swayed as he tiptoed across the room to Severus’ office door. Just as his hand was on the doorknob however, it flung open and Severus rushed out of his dark office.

“What were you thinking?” He snapped. “Where were you?”

When he had found Harry’s bed empty, Severus’ heart had stopped. It missed several beats before the panic set in and it started beating at twice its usual speed. All sorts of terrible scenarios had rushed through his head.

Harry could have come across Fluffy and been mauled to death. What if he was bleeding out somewhere? Or what if he had fallen down a trick step and was stuck in a moving staircase with a broken leg for the night? Or what if Filch had gotten him again and decided to implement his thumbscrew initiative?

The images his imagination had come up with were terrifying. But he was safe. Safe, in front of him and very much in trouble.

Harry blinked repeatedly in shock. The amount of concern radiating off Severus was something he had never experienced before.

“I’m-I'm sorry, I just, I couldn’t sleep so I went for a walk.” Harry stuttered. Severus groaned and ushered him through the office into the living room.

“Sit.” Severus ordered as he pointed at the couch before disappearing into the kitchen. Harry obeyed, stifling a yawn. Severus returned holding two steaming mugs and the scents of coffee and hot chocolate mingled together, waking Harry up sufficiently.

He took his Slytherin mug with a thanks and blew across the top to cool it down.  
Severus settled himself across from Harry before starting.

“I am sorry for how I reacted when you asked me about Lily and your father. And you were right, you do have a right to know.”

He cleared his throat. “During the war, Dumbledore was the only one the Dark Lord was afraid of. He hurt anyone close to Albus and your parents were very loyal to him. On Halloween, he went to your house with the intention of killing your family.”

He tried to tell a tale less gruesome than it really was. He left out the prophecy, the Order, the entire complicated battle of spies between Light and Dark and no one knowing who to trust.

“You know the rest, you somehow defeating the Dark Lord but yes, he did kill your parents.” He finished regretfully. “There is no rhyme and reason as to why He Who Must Not Be Named did what he did. He killed many, many people during the War. Many because he liked it.”

Harry stared into the creamy, frothy surface of his drink. “I just wish I knew who they were.” He admitted. He had a feeling his tiredness was making him more susceptible to mood swings but as a suffocating despair rose in his chest, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“I’m never going to know my parents. I’m never going to know what they sounded like, or if my dad made stupid dad jokes or how they laughed.” Tears began to collect in his eyes and dropped onto his cheeks. He rubbed them away harshly but they fell too fast for him to stop.

“I’m never going to get a hug from them.” He sobbed. Severus sat beside him and drew him into a hug hesitantly. Harry flung his arms around him, crying into his chest.

Severus ignored the growing wetness of his robes and carded his hands through Harry’s hair. “Your father made stupid dad jokes before he was even a father.” He told him when Harry’s sobs began to lessen after a while. Harry laughed wetly.

He sniffled and pulled away. “Thanks.” He hiccupped. His eyes were rimmed red and puffy as he rubbed them tiredly. His cheeks glistened with tear tracks. Even now, with the crying having subsided, a few tears squeezed out of his eyes and slipped over his cheeks helplessly.

“Let’s get you to bed.” Severus said gently. Harry was easily led to bed and fell asleep in a matter of seconds, his breathing heavier than usual because of his congested nose.

Severus lowered himself into the chair beside Harry’s bed. He told himself that he would only stay to make sure Harry didn’t wake up but he found himself unable to get up long past Harry had been asleep.

He fell asleep and dreamt of childhood summers, lilies and a past long forgotten.

********  
It wasn’t until school started back up that Harry and Co found time to visit Hagrid and interrogate him over the Cerberus and the secret that lay hidden under the school. 

In order to prevent it from seeming like a mob prepared to attack, it was decided that Draco, Harry and Hermione would go down as a trio instead of everyone traipsing down to Hagrid’s hut. Hagrid opened the door with a beaming smile when Harry rapped on the hut's entrance.

“I'm glad yeh came back for tea Harry. Fang sure missed yeh Malfoy.” He added as they sat down. A steaming watering-can-sized teapot was already laid out beside treacle tarts and plates on the kitchen table. “Ah, and ‘Ermione, good to see yeh. Heard you're very smart.”

She blushed, taking a sip of tea to hide the dark flush. Draco discreetly scratched Fang under his chin as the dog lay on his lap. He thumped his tail happily and drooled over Draco's pant leg. 

“It's nice to be back.” Harry said honestly. He scratched his cheek self-consciously. 

“We actually wanted to ask you something.” Draco got straight to the point. “Why is there a three headed dog on the third floor?”

“Who told yeh about Fluffy?” Hagrid asked in shock, mopping up tea he had spilt when he jumped back at Draco’s question.

“Fluffy? Who names a dangerous beast Fluffy?!” Draco asked, flabbergasted, as Hermione asked, “But what’s he guarding?”

“Now listen here.” Hagrid said seriously. He leaned forward and gazed at them earnestly. “Fluffy wouldn’t hurt a fly, and what’s down there is between Albus Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel.”

“Nicholas Flamel? I’ve heard that name before!” Hermione exclaimed excitedly.

Hagrid blanched. “I shouldn’t have said that. I should have not said that. Forget that. How about that match soon eh? Gryffindor and Hufflepuff right?”

But of course, no one would forget the interesting little tidbit that Hagrid had let slip. The rest of their afternoon tea, no one forgot it. Not even when Fang jumped on Draco and sat on him, slobbering him in kisses, causing a huge commotion.

After they left the house with promises to return again, it was just turning to dusk, the dusty pink and orange hues of the sky turning to a dark blue. Draco had three showers when they got back to the great amusement of everyone else.

They all gathered in the common room afterwards. 

“Nicholas Flamel?” Pansy mused from where she lounged by the fire. “That’s ridiculously familiar.”

“An author?” Hermione suggested. She bunched up her hair in her hand as she thought. 

“Hmm maybe but then how would Pansy know him?” Blaise taunted. Pansy shot him a glare and bared her teeth at him.

“Blaise stop being mean.” Harry scolded. “You know well how smart she is. And besides, I’ve never heard of him so he’s probably not an incredibly well-known author. A scholar maybe?”

“Who cares?” Draco complained. He scowled at everyone when they stared at him incredulously. He was still irritable from when Fang had practically eaten him. “I’m hungry, and I just want to go to dinner. Realistically we won’t figure it out right this second so what’s the point in trying?”

“I second doing food.” Theo said immediately. 

“Alright fine, we'll go to dinner and then I need some sleep.” Harry said. He looked towards Hermione who seemed prepared to argue that they skip dinner and find out everything they can on Flamel.

“I guess it can wait.” Hermione folded her arms begrudgingly. 

*********

It did wait, for several days, until after the Gryffindor Hufflepuff match, which was a shambles.

The atmosphere was icy cold in the common room when they traipsed back sullenly after the match. To them, it was an insult to the entire game of Quidditch whenever Gryffindor won and the attitude of the Slytherins clearly showed that. 

Draco threw himself onto his bed with an angry huff. Blaise did similarly, but less dramatic, and leaned back against his pillows. 

“It physically kills me whenever they win.” Draco seethed. Crabbe and Goyle grunted in agreement as they ambled in behind Theo.

Harry shoved him over and sprawled out on his bed beside him. “They’ve only won once.” He reminded the grouch. “We won the first match, and with more points than them so we’re still winning.”

“It’s still one win too many.” Draco sighed into his bed covers. His usually gelled back hair flopped onto the covers around him as if copying Draco’s despairing mood.

Harry rolled his eyes and tried to get comfortable, shoving Draco’s body around when he refused to cooperate, and he eventually relaxed against the pillows, Draco draped over his legs with his face still hidden in the bed covers.

“Enough moping.” Hermione snapped as she strode into the room with Pansy beside her. Draco glared up at her.

“You’re not supposed to be in here.” He sneered petulantly. 

“Hey!” Blaise exclaimed as he sat up. “Why are girls allowed in here and we can’t get into the girls dorms?” He asked with a frown. “That’s unfair!”

Pansy shoved him off the bed, lounging primly across it when he tumbled to the floor. “Because girls are far superior.” She said slowly as if explaining something to an idiot. Blaise glared at her as he moved to sit beside Theo. 

“You. Are a bitch.” He declared scathingly. 

“And you love me for it.” Pansy winked at him and settled back so Hermione could sit down. Her curls bounced as she hopped up beside her and she surveyed them all with a frustrated scowl.

“Has no one,” she began, “thought anymore about what Hagrid told us? There are things more important than a Quidditch game!” She hit the bed with her fist as her eyes glinted.

Draco gasped and shot up immediately, knocking Harry in the face with his elbow. “How dare you?” He puffed. “First you come here, with no warning, and then you insult Quidditch? Not everyone cares about the goddamn thing hidden in the castle Granger!” 

Hermione immediately bristled and prepared to retaliate but Harry intervened casually. Whenever they used last names it always meant an explosion was going to come sooner or later. And it was usually sooner rather than later.

“Quidditch is important to us, and Gryffindors are largely prats, Mia, you have to agree.” He said as he gently shoved Draco back against the pillows until he huffed and crossed his arms as he slumped against the headboard.

Hermione sniffed and threw her head back, shaking her hair out even more. “Of course, I know that Harry. I have to live with them.” She muttered. 

“So, you can get why we’re so annoyed that they’ve won. And of course, we want to figure out what’s in the castle, but going to hunt for it is a different thing.” Harry continued. Hermione opened her mouth to argue. “Don’t tell me you just wanted to casually chat about Nicholas Flamel.” He warned lightly.

She blushed, the flush highly noticeable against her dark complexion, and Harry grinned at her. “We have school, classes, exams. They’re more important than running around after dangerous creatures and mysterious magical objects. And besides, it would be ridiculous for us to try and find it. It’s hidden for a reason.” 

“And Slytherins looking for powerful magic is only asking for trouble.” Blaise snorted bitterly.

Pansy nodded. She put a hand on Hermione’s arm gently and was surprisingly quiet as she explained. “We’re Slytherins Hermione. It’s one thing for hot-headed, stereotypically brave Gryffindors to run around looking for powerful magical objects. They’re the good guys,” She bent her fingers into quotation marks on the word good.

“But we’re the evil ones. If Gryffindors find whatever it is, they’ll be hailed as doing good or being incredible for getting past their traps. If Slytherins find it, we’re looking for it to do harm. Because we’re in Slytherin or are pureblood, we’re automatically evil. It’s just not worth the backlash to find it.” Pansy finished honestly.

“We may be able to handle the everyday House hatred but not even awesome, cool headed Slytherins like us would be able to handle all the negative attention it would bring without snapping.” Theo half-joked.

Everyone fell silent as the weight of their differences settled on them like a heavy, weighed down cloak. 

“But you guys are good.” Hermione argued. Blaise laughed harshly. 

“Most of us are when we first arrive, spoiler alert.” He announced sharply. “But what would happen to you if you had people hating you from the very moment you arrived at Hogwarts? If you were told as soon as you arrive that no matter what happens, you need to stick together outside this common room, otherwise you’ll get picked apart mercilessly.

 “All these pureblood kids, most of them have grown up in hostile, dark environments and have ridiculous amounts of pressure put on them to conform to the insane archaic pureblood standards.

"If you grew up with insane behavioral standards, and were told from the minute you entered school that you were evil, and there’s no point in trying to convince them that you’re not because they won’t listen, wouldn’t you be bitter and decide to really give them a reason to hate you?" Blaise finished darkly.

“And then what they say becomes true and you are evil.” Theo said quietly. 

Hermione stared at her hands, tears swimming in her eyes.

Pansy patted her back and glanced at everyone. They all shared grim expressions of bitter acceptance. They had come to terms with the unfairness of it all a long time ago. It was something that no eleven-year-old should accept, let alone understand, but that was the way it was and there was nothing they could do about it.

“The Philosopher's Stone.” Draco exclaimed suddenly, surprising everyone, even himself, out of the suffocating mood they had found themselves in. Harry, who had been quiet this whole time, stared at him. 

“You are a genius.” Harry breathed. Draco grew exceedingly smug as everyone turned their attention to him. 

“Nicholas Flamel.” He explained. “The only thing Nicholas Flamel is known for is discovering and owning the Philosopher’s Stone. If whatever is down there is between Nicholas and Professor Dumbledore, it can only be the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“Draco you _are_ a genius!” Hermione exclaimed. She jumped up off the bed and grabbed his arms excitedly, wiping at her eyes hurriedly. “The Philosopher’s Stone!”

 “Why would they hide it here though? Surely loads of people would be after that, what threat could be so big that Nicholas Flamel would give it up? He relies on it for immortality, right? He’ll die without it.” Theo said in bewilderment.

“I’ve been thinking about that actually.” Hermione sat back down beside Pansy slowly.

They had all moved past their depressing talk of Slytherin hatred and became fully invested in their conspiracy theories. The air became light again, and the suffocating weight of societal inequality began to fade.

Everyone leaned forward on their beds, as if getting closer to each other would somehow cause their brains to work better and come up with more ideas.

“The only reason they would hide it here is because Dumbledore is here. That’s the only thing that makes sense. But the only person I can think of that was extremely powerful and also feared him greatly is, well, You Know Who.” Hermione said hesitantly.

“But he’s dead.” Blaise said immediately. “No one has seen him since Boy Wonder over here destroyed him.”

They all shared a heavy look. “Right?” Theo ventured.

“He's dead.” Harry said quietly. Draco knocked his ankle with his foot comfortingly.

“But then who wants the Stone?” Theo asked with a puzzled frown. No one had an answer for him. It seemed they had hit a dead end.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed, please kudos and comment. 
> 
> The reception to this has been mind blowing and I love you all. Seriously, the reads, the kudos, all the love? Thank y'all so much.   
> I know even if I didn't receive this, I'd still write but I'm happy people enjoy my stuff.
> 
> Anyway, see you all next time!


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit late folks but hey at least it's not a month eh? Hope you enjoy! 4.5k coming at ya folks. Roughly.

The fire crackled beside Harry as he struggled to keep his eyes open. On his lap, his heavy Transfiguration book kept slipping ,  jolt ing  him awake every time it almost fell. The common room was empty, everyone else in bed, and he was the only one hunched over a book in his armchair. 

Flint had decided to increase training sessions after Oliver Wood had increased his own team's practices.  Those two were the worst of rivals. Whenever they were together, they were almost always found yelling at each other about their teams from opposite ends of the corridors. More than once Harry had to pull Flint away from one of their shouting matches because they were late to class. 

Stephen curled around his neck in irritation. Whenever Harry jumped unexpectedly, he was knocked around and he did not appreciate that. “ _ Just go to sleep _ .” He hissed angrily. “ _ This is futile. _ ”

“I am perfectly capable of finishing my Transfiguration homework Steph.” Harry mumbled. He shook his head and tried again to focus on the words that swam on the page.

With the extra  Quidditch  and teachers increasing their workloads because of exams, Harry had no time to do anything. More often than not, he found himself staying up later than everyone else to finish his schoolwork. Pansy had offered to terrorize some  Hufflepuffs  into doing his essays, but Harry felt bad doing that and had declined. 

Staying awake, however, seemed to be something he was not going to master any time soon. He closed the book with a yawn and, shoving it under his arm, plodded to his own bedroom. The boys slept lightly despite being impervious to Crabbe’s snoring, and Harry didn’t want to wake them, preferring to sleep in his own room on late nights like these. 

“ _ I told you." _  Stephen  grumped.  Before he could reply, the snake promptly fell asleep.  Harry rolled his eyes  and  slipped through the office door silently. 

Severus would disapprove of his irregular sleep schedule, so Harry simply didn’t tell him.  When he was in the middle of the room, the door to the living room opened and Harry panicked. He dove behind the desk without a second thought.

A peek from behind the large table revealed Severus. He was wearing a heavy cloak  that made him seem like part of the shadows that collected in the corners of the room  and  looked  to be trying to go unnoticed as he crept out of the  room. Harry immediately made his mind up. He shoved his book onto the desk and scurried after Severus.

If  Severus  was sneaking somewhere after telling  him  not to sneak anywhere, Harry was going to find out where he was going.

Halfway through following Severus through corridors he didn’t even know existed, Harry regretted not bringing the Cloak.  H e had vowed to give it a rest after  the debacle that was finding the Mirror , however a fter the third time he had had to dive behin d a tapestry, he was wondering whether he should abandon that plan.

“What in Merlin’s name is he doing?” Harry accidentally wondered out loud as  he watched  Severus slip through the Entrance Doors and onto the grounds. As he followed him to the Forbidden Forest, his cur iosity grew.

He hovered behind trees as they went deeper and deeper into the shadows that hung around the Forest. Light faded fast and Harry had to work do ubly hard to avoid rocks, sticks and plants. Considering what students dealt with in  Herbology , he didn’t want to risk touching a plant in the Forest. 

It might eat his face off.

After what seemed like an hour of wandering, Severus finally stopped. “ Quirinus .” He greeted snidely. Harry threw himself behind a tree a nd peeked through a swath of leaves to see Professor  Quirrell  spin around.  The poor man  trembled  as Severus towered over him.

“W-what do y-y-you w-want Severus.”  Quirrell stuttered as he pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders.  He shrunk back against the rough bark of the tree he was leaning against. Lip quivering and f ingers trembling, his eyes darted side to side.

Severus leaned in  with a narrowed gaze. “ Have you figured out how to get to the  Stone? ” He hissed menacingly.

“ Why w-w-would you w-want to m-m-meet here ?”  Quirrell demanded. He looked around furtively and grabbed onto the tree trunk subconsciously.  Harry tried to edge closer while staying hidden in the shadows. His view of the pair was slightly obscured by leaves for a moment, blocking his view of their expressions.

“Students aren’t supposed to know about the Stone, and  Albus  would hear any other place,” Severus replied snottily. “ Have you figured out how to get to the Stone?” Harry heard Severus  repeat . 

“This has n-nothing to d-do with you S-Snape!”  Quirrell  replied  bravely .  Harry shoved a branch out of his way impatiently.

Severus leaned in aggressively and  growled. “You don’t want me as your enemy  Quirrell . One wouldn’t want to think of you being  disloyal-"

A branch cracked in the distance and Severus  looked around suspiciously. He leaned in, making Harry strain  to  hear. Even then he could only hear snatches of conversation.

“-little trick with- chat soon-need to get it.” Severus whispered.  With that, he strode off leaving  Quirrell  stranded in the Forest, looking positively petrified.  After a moment t he  professor melted into the shadows as Harry too left him behind.

Harry opted for the dormitory instead of his room when he got back. He  didn't want to risk Severus catching him out of bed at such a late hour.  Not in the state he was in either.  He was entirely discombobulated.

Why would Severus want to know if Quirrell  can get past the Stone’s protections? Does Quirrell want the Stone? Does Severus? But whoever wanted to steal the Stone from G ringotts was evil which was why it got moved right? 

He wandered into the dorms in a haze. His thoughts muddled his head and he had to quickly clasp his hand over his mouth when he stubbed his toe as a result. A sharp  pain throbbed in his big toe as he hobbled towards Draco’s bed.

Yelling expletives in his head ,  he yanked back the drapes. “Dray.” Harry hissed. Draco groaned but didn’t wake up. Harry poked him and he squirmed away. 

“Draco!” Harry whispered harshly. “Wake up. Something weird happened.”

“You’re always weird Harry, go to sleep.” Draco mumbled. He pulled his covers closer to his chin with a contented sigh only to have them yanked away. He recoiled against the cold air that assaulted him.

“What?” He snapped with a glare. Harry scrambled onto the bed and spelled the dark green hangings closed.  As Harry explained what he had just witnessed, Draco became more and more awake.

When Harry finished ,  he watched Draco with bated breath. “Well?” He demanded. “It’s weird right?”

“Well, yes.” Draco scratched his chin. “ I wonder why Severus would want to know how to get to the Stone?” 

Harry worried at his lip. “You don’t think that he....” He trailed off and shook his head. “No, he  can't  be.”

Draco noticed his distress and immediately cottoned on to his train of thought. “S nape  isn’t after the  Stone.  Why would he even want it? He isn’t dying.  He doesn’t need immortality.” He reasoned. Harry nodded but his brow was still  furrowed,  and his lip had begun to bleed from the amount of biting he was doing. Draco sighed.

“Come on . We know he’s not evil. He’s not going to risk everything he has just to get the Stone.” He remind ed Harry. 

“Yeah... yeah,  I guess. But why would he go after Quirrell? It’s not like he’s plotting some dastardly deed to get the Philosopher’s Stone.” Harry ch uckled. Both boys laughed at the idea of Quirrell of all people bypassing dangerous magical creatures.

“He’d faint at the sight of Fluffy.” Draco added and they both burst into raucous laughter again. 

“If you two don’t shut up, I’m cursing both of you.” Came Theo’s angry, sleepy voice, cutting  through their laughter. Draco rolled his eyes and yawned.

“ Theodore is correct.  Sleep.” He ordered. “We can think about  all this tomorrow.” He rolled over , reclaiming his blanket. Harry shrugged despite his lingering uneasiness  and settled in beside Draco. He was glad that he had a friend who didn’t mind sharing the same bed or being so close. 

“I heard that he stuffs his turban with garlic to ward off vampires.” Harry whispered into the darkness.

“I am going to suffocate you with a pillow.” Draco threatened.

“But what if Severus-”

“Harry James Potter.”

“Okay.”

*****

The next morning, a very tired Draco had to be dragged out of bed and ushered into the Great Hall for breakfast.  Harry sniggered into his pumpkin juice with no remorse as people skittered away from Draco’s murderous glare. 

“This is your fault.” Draco grumbled to Harry who laughed unapologetically.

“I’m doing perfectly fine and I got much less sleep than you.” Harry told him smugly. Draco eyed the forks  contemplatively  and Blaise swiftly flicked his ear. “We do not,” He  enunciated , “stab friends with utensils.”

Hermione passed by them with a small grin. “Is Draco being murderous again?” She asked with much too much cheer than should be used with that sentence.  She held a stack of books in her arms as she stopped behind them on her way to the Gryffindor table.

“I see you have raided the library again Granger. Not done with being a swot eh?” Draco retorted.  It was a great source of displeasure  whenever the bright young witch bested him at things , especially because she worked hard to be the best. The  constant presence of books in her arms or her bag never failed to remind him of how he always came second behind her and he hated that.

“ Oh,  do lighten up Draco.” Hermione  said dismissively. She smiled brightly at them all and waved as she walked off. “See you all in Herbology.” 

She sat down at her House table and spread the books  around her. Beginning to flip through them, she pulled a bowl of porridge towards  her,  but her book was slammed closed  unexpectedly  narrowly missing her fingers . 

Ron glared at her from across the table. “Why do you hang around with those morons?” He  glowered. His face looked like thunder and his chin jutted out angrily. “They’re Slytherins! They’re evil.”

“Oh, so you’re saying Harry Potter is evil?” Hermione raised an eyebrow. “If any one here is being a moron, it’s not them.” She added. She grabbed her book back and began flipping through it to find her page again.

“No, but he’s weird.” Ron muttered under his breath. “You’re mixing with peo ple that are  notoriously  bad!” He said out loud. 

“Why are they so bad? Because the  evilest  person in Wizarding Britain was from Slytherin? What  if he was from Gryffindor? Would you like it if everyone labelled you as evil just because of that?  Everyone  has the capability to be evil Ron.” Hermione exclaimed.

“The only reason you’re saying that is because  you’re  buddies with them.” Ron argued. 

Hermione huffed angrily and shook her hair out. “Look,” She began, “ so what if I’m friends with them? They’re not hurting anyone!”

“That Malfoy bloke hexed Justin!” At this point  everybody  at the table had abandoned their  breakfast  in  favor  of the shouting match.

“Because Justin said he belonged in Azkaban with the rest of his family!” Hermione shrieked. “If you attack someone,  physically  or  otherwise , they’re going to defend themselves.  Try not jumping at every chance to hurt them when their backs are turned and  maybe  you’ll see who’s really in the wrong here!”

Ron shook his head in disgust. “It doesn’t matter what you say, they’ve practically brainwashed you.” He pointed at her  furiously . “You’re a traitor to your own House!”

He stalked away from the table. “What if I was friends with a Hufflepuff?!” Hermione called after him. “Would I be a House traitor then?”  He didn’t reply.

She sat back down angrily and glared at  everyone  who was staring at her. “What?” She snapped. They all hurriedly turned back to their breakfast and resumed their conversations.

Across the hall, Harry stared at Draco. “I told you she was nice.” He said.

“Shut up.” Draco huffed.

The argument was talked about for the rest of the day, but most opinions were not positive.

In Herbology, Gryffindors  and Slytherins glared at each other from across the massive, dirt stained table and every student had to fight the urge to throw the plants at each other .  Almost nobody paid attention to the lesson and the trend continued for the rest of the day.

House points fluctuated tremendously through out the day as scuffles broke out among students from both houses.  By the time lunch came around, Madam Pomfrey had a steady line of students coming in and out of the Hospital Wing. 

Harry thought that at least his House would be grateful that someone didn’t believe in the prejudice against  Slytherins,  but he was  severely mistaken.  One of the  Slytherin prefect s  approached him in the middle of lunch , a tall  dark-haired  boy named Zachary with disarming blue eyes and sharp cheekbones.

“We’ve put up with it for long  enough,  but this is getting out of hand. Before, your friendship with the Gryffindor was harmless but now students are  ending up in the Hospital Wing because of those idiots. ” Zachary pursed his lips.

“Our House reputation is  being destroyed because of this ridiculous ness . Slytherins do not mix with Gryffindors.  End it before someone else does.” He threatened. With that final word he stalked back to his friends who all stared at Harry disapprovingly.

The small exchange left Harry flustered and annoyed. “Why can’t-this is ridiculous.” He stammered. He looked to the others for support. “I’m frie nds with a Gryffindor, so what? And now I  can't  be friends with her because of some  stuck-up  notion  of House superiority?  I’m not the only one annoyed here, right?” He  beseeched . 

The others shifted uncomfortably in their seats. “Look, Harry, I know you like Hermione, so do I but-” Pansy got cut off by Draco who slammed his goblet down angrily, drops of pumpk in juice spilling over and staining the  tablecloth .

“But nothing! Zachary is right, Harry. Slytherins and Gryffindors do not mix, that’s the way it always has been and the way it will stay until the end of time. They hate  us, we hate them.” His face  was  pinched together  in anger.  His grey eyes were steel, and Harry felt a wave of anger as he stared into their cold depths.

“But that can change if we just change their perception of us.” Harry argued. His face was  burning,  and his chest was tight, fingernails digging into  the palm of his hands as they formed fists . 

“Do you think they want to see us any differently?” Draco leaned in as he hissed scathingly. “They take pride in  hating us. House superiority is not a  stuck-up  notion, it’s just the truth. Slytherins are better than the rest  and that’s the way it is! We shouldn’t debase ourselves by  fraternizing  with the enemy especially not filthy little  muggle-borns  like her .”

“I never thought you’d be so horrible.” Harry spat at Draco, with  barely concealed hurt .  He shoved away from the table with a scowl and  stomped up to the teacher’s table , leaving hushed whispers in his wake. Draco had the dece ncy to look ashamed for a second when Harry left but he quickly covered it up.

“ Draco... ” Pansy said  uncertainly.

“If he can’t deal with how things are, maybe he shouldn’t have been put in Slytherin.” Draco muttered.

*****

The next few days were awful. Their friend group was split horribly with no one wanting to choose sides between Harry and Draco. Outside of the common room they were  civil to each other , a united front was a must among Slytherins after all, but in the Common Room they were so cold to each other  that it wouldn’t have shocked people if the window to the lake froze over.

Harry was tired of it all. Dodging his best friend and the rest of his friends was terrible and he was terribly lonely. He couldn’t even hang out with He rmione without feeling either angry or guilty. He was certain that was going to ruin their  friendship  and then he really would have no friends.

He didn’t want to have no friends again. 

What with his concern for Severus  after that weird meeting with Quirrell  and the Stone, and now being alone, Harry was feeling just  great. Slightly overwhelmed. Slightly constantly panicky. But great.

Severus watched in concern as Harry  trudged up to him  during lunch, bypassing his friends at the Slytherin table.  He had heard the  argument  before , as had everyone else in the Great Hall, and while he was annoyed at how Draco had spoken to  Harry,  he cou ldn’t help but silently agree with his godson.

House pride had always been an important thing to the students. The rivalry between Gryffindors and Slytherins had always existed and just got worse over time. It is wha t it is and there wasn’t an easy fix. The more logical thing to do was to let it be and deal with it . Slytherins were prided on their ambition, cunning but also their self-preservation which is what differentiated them from their lion counterparts.

Gryffindors would run into a fire to save whoever was in there without a second though t even if it was hopeless , whereas Slytherins wou ld save themselves . Gryffindors were brave but rash and  reckless  to the point of putting themselves in danger needlessly. Slytherins were calculating.  It may  be  cold but that’s the way things  were .  That wasn’t being changed anytime soon.

Severus couldn’t help but be glad Harry had  therapy  that afternoon ,  however.  He didn’t think he could deal with Harry being so  downcast for much longer.

“Can we go now?” Harry asked sullenly.

“You haven’t had any lunch.” Severus pointed out disapprovingly. 

Severus nodded and stood up swiftly, nodding a short goodbye to Minerva who smiled tightly at Harry.

They left the Hall  through a side door so as not to gain any more attention. 

“Do you  think Draco’s right?” Harry demanded  hotly  as they walked out onto the grounds.  Severus knew this was going to come sooner or later, but he would have  preferred  more than three days to prepare. He breathe d in deeply, the fresh air  bracingly  cold

 Spring was just around the corner but the students milling around still had scarves and hats on to protect themselves against the bitter wind. 

“I think decades of House rivalry aren’t going to go away  overnight .” Severus said diplomatically. “To believe so would be foolish.” He glanced sideways at Harry. “ Of course,  I am of the opinion that Slytherins are better than Gryffindors but th at is my right as Head of House.”

Harry glared at the ground as if it had insulted the very core of his being. “ So,  you do think he’s right.” He muttered. 

“No,” Severus replied evenly, “I believe in my House.  Harry, House rivalry has been at Hogwarts since before even I went to school. Changing it isn’t going to be easy, even simply defying it for the sake of friendship is  going to be difficult.”

They reached Hogsmeade quickly and Harry scuffed his shoes along the ground. “Yeah.” He grumbled. “See ya.” 

He pulled open the door and stepped inside, away from Severus before he could respond. As he trudged up the stairs, Sarah popped her head out from around the corner , hair down from its usual plait and swinging over her shoulder as she grinned at him.

“Hey Harry!” She greeted. When he didn’t reply, she bit her lip and her face grew more serious.  “Ah, bad day?”

Harry flung himself down into his  favorite  chair with a huff. It wasn’t until he angrily grabbed a cookie that he spoke.

“People are idiots.” He said between bites. “Why does me being in a certain House have to impact who I’m friends with or what I do or how I act?” He chomped angrily . “And for Draco of all people to say something like that! I know he’s a  toe rag  sometimes but come on!”

“And how does that  make  you feel?” Sarah  asked with a cheesy grin . Harry glared at her. He was doing a lot of glaring lately. “Sorry.” She  apologized . “Bad joke.”

She settled into her chair cross legged with her notebook and nodded. “Okay, serious psychologist mode on.” She assured him. 

Harry sighed, leaned back in his chair and began to talk

***********

He walked out of Sarah’s house later, still annoyed, but maybe a bit less angry than he was before. Outside, Severus was waiting with  Honeydukes  chocolate in hand. It had become customary to end each session with sweets, and chocolate was simply the best thing ever. Aside from maybe treacle tart.

“Thanks.” Harry accepted the chocolate with a grateful smile. 

“How was today’s session?” Severus asked they set off towards the castle.  The wind snapped his robes around his  ankles,  but a simple warming charm helped keep the  chill away from them both.

“It was fine. I guess I can kind of see where Draco is coming from. He’s not right!” Harry added immediately. “But I can  see why he’d say what he did.”

Severus waited patiently,  obviously  waiting for Harry to explain his thinking.

“It’s like what Blaise said with the evil thing. If you grow up with everyone telling  you,  you’re evil, then eventually  you're gonna  believe them and  become evil. The same with Dray and everyone else.  If all you grow up with is people telling  you,  you’re better than everyone else  because  of whatever House you’re in or what your blood status is, you’re  gonna  believe it.” Harry finished  and took a bite of his Chocolate Frog contemplatively.

Severus was mildly taken aback by the ridiculous amount of maturity in the eleven-year old. He could remember James dying of laughte r because of a fart joke when they were eleven. And this was his son? 

“Well.” Severus paused. “That’s...quite logical thinking.” 

Harry nodded sagely. “I know. I’m quite obviously the next Merlin.” He kept a straight face for two seconds before he sniggered. “I’m Merlin,  my name’s a curse word and so are my body parts.” He adopted a deep voice as he became Merlin.

And there was the James. Severus sighed but handed him another chocolate obligingly. “Eat, you’re still too skinny.” He chided.

“Let me just wave my wand and add some pounds. Wait, can I actually do that?” Harry gasped.  His eyes shined with the revelation. 

“If there was a spell for that, I would have used it by now.” Severus said dryly. 

Harry nodded, not too dejected. “Yeah, true.” They reached the Entrance Doors and Harry shoved the rest of his Frog in his mouth. It was late in the  afternoon;  classes were about to  end,  and the corridors began to fill up with students as teachers let them go.

“I’m going to go find Draco.” Harry told Severus. He hurried to the Slytherin Common Room, narrowly dodging Ron’s elbow along the way, and walked in to find Draco  sitting with the others around a table.

Sitting was rather an exaggeration. Draco was laying with his torso on the table, his arms  spread  out and taking up all the room. His face was smushed against the hard tabletop and he was pouting. Harry  recognized it as his moping  position. 

He couldn’t just go up and poke him in the side, teasing him for being dramatic. What if Draco was still angry at him? He walked awkwardly up to the group. 

“Harry!” Theo exclaimed. He grabbed the other’s attentions and they all grinned up at him. “How was Hogsmeade?” Theo asked. Harry tossed him a Chocolate Frog and placed a small pile of the sweets on the table. 

“It was fine.” He said  as everyone dove for the chocolate . Hogsmeade was code for therapy. At this stage his friends knew he was going to therapy, but Harry wasn’t comfortable with broadcasting it to everyone in his House.

“Hey Dray.” Harry said quietly. Draco sat up primly and eyed him warily. 

“Hello.” He said stiffly. He began to examine his nails indifferently. But Harry knew him better than that. Draco was just avoiding eye contact  because he felt awkward. The pompous air was merely a glamour, Harry knew that by now. He’d been living with the guy for basically a year for Merlin’s sake!

“I’m sorry for blowing up at you.” Harry sighed. “I’m not saying you’re  right,  but I can understand where you were coming from. Hermione isn’t any less than you jus t because her parents are Muggles!” He added quickly when Draco perked up too much for his liking.

“And we’re still being friends with her.” He told him serio u sly.

Draco looked appropriately abashed. “I’m sorry. ” He said. “I just- I didn’t mean that-” He began to  grow  frustrated when he couldn’t say what he wanted to. 

“Hey, Draco, it’s fine. I get it.” Harry muttered. Draco sighed in relief. 

“ Oh  thank Salazar. I was going insane with just these for company.” Draco jerked his thumb towards Pansy, Blaise and Theo who were still  munching on chocolate. 

“Ha, it’s because I  kept  beating him at chess.” Blaise crowed. He laughed as Draco spluttered indignantly. 

“How dare you! It’s lies Harry, it’s all lies.” Draco told him. “He just keeps losing at  Gobstones . It’s no fun when you have no one to stimulate you intellectually.” He sniffed.

Harry laughed delightedly as they continued to bicker. A warmth that he had desperately missed the last few days filled his chest and he grabbed another Frog happily.  He felt much better now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I plan for so much conflict? No. Did it decide that it was gonna happen? Yes. Whoops. At least I didn't end the chapter with them still fighting. It did cross my mind but I couldn't do that.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, please comment and kudos and I'll see you all next time! <3  
> also thanks to DarkInuFan for giving me the idea to show how people are reacting to a Slytherin Gryffindor friendship. Slytherdor if you will. Gryffinerin. Nope. As a Slytherin, I do not personally hate Gryffindors but that felt just wrong.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy all. How are we all? Here's an update for you, hope you enjoy! Emmmm nothing much to add I don't think.

Spring had officially arrived and with it, the topsy-turvy weather. There were days where the sun shone, and the students of Hogwarts felt like they would die inside the stuffy castle. Then there were days where there was a serious fear that the Lake would overflow and the giant squid would end up splayed out on the grounds, tentacles flailing and smacking a student in the face here and there. 

However, it was a wonderful day where the sun was gracing the grounds with its glorious rays of light and creating a perfect atmosphere for lazing around. Harry and his merry band of friends had migrated out of their opulent common room to the great outdoors where they lay by the calm Lake and basked in the sunshine. 

They had work to do, and they rather despised the teachers for giving them work on such a fine weekend, but they basked in the sunshine with their homework  regardless . 

Draco lay in the shade under a grand oak tree with Pansy while Harry, Blaise and Theo  lay  stretched out in the shade. Draco had rushed to the shade before anyone else claiming that his porcelain complexion would be ruined in the sun  while  Pansy merely refused to get freckles. Crabbe and Goyle had opted to go to the kitchens instead to raid it for snacks, as they often did. 

The sun warmed Harry’s face delightfully. It was a warmth that suffused his very bones and settled into his skin pleasantly. A light breeze stopped him from becoming overwhelmingly hot, gently ruffling his hair and dancing across his skin playfully. He hummed contently.  

A sharp poke to his ribcage broke him out of his happy daydreaming. “Who did that?” He demanded with a light-hearted scowl as he sat up. Blaise gestured pointedly toward Harry’s forgotten Potions essay.  

“Come on, do your work,” Blaise ordered, “You’re helping with this because His Highness refuses to.” He gestured towards Draco. The prim prince checked his nails with a toss of his head to show how little he cared. 

Harry folded his arms, raising an eyebrow, and asked in true Slytherin fashion, “What will I get if I do help?” 

“A  Honeydukes  chocolate hamper and my dessert for a week,” Blaise answered immediately. He had expected Harry’s demands. 

“Deal.” Harry rolled over onto his stomach and the two began to work on the uses and effects of armadillo bile. 

Before, Harry had thought that their workload was as bad as it could get, but with exams right around the corner, professors had somehow managed to pile even more work onto the students. Along with the revision the professors added, it was  tough,  and Harry found he wasn’t the only one staying up late to do work anymore. 

Not that they needed to set revision. Hermione and Draco had already devised study plans for them all, separately of course. When Hermione had rushed in to the Slytherin common room wielding her  colour -coded plans like a shield, Draco had just given them all precise  colour -coded study plans. 

He almost passed out from holding in his scathing comments when Hermione set her plans down on top of his. Eventually it had been decided that they would combine the plans, which were  quite similar to  each other, but the atmosphere between Hermione and Draco was tense the whole time the decision was being made. 

The two still weren’t the best of friends. Harry wasn’t delusional enough to think that they would be but the animosity between the pair was really starting to grate on him. He just hoped their shared desire to force the group to study religiously would bring them a little bit closer together.  The study was getting a bit ridiculous though.

Easter break hadn’t even been a break! Harry’s back still hurt from hunching over a desk for so long and he was convinced that the long hours spent squinting at textbooks had made his e yesight worse.

Blaise and Harry worked on their essays until Draco’s constant sighs got to them and they rolled up the parchment caref ully. They went inside, blinking against the sudden dimness, and ran into Crabbe and Goyle on their way to the common room.

The  inseparable  pair had their arms crammed with sweets and pastries. Harry eagerly snatched a mini treacle tart and chomped on it happily as they collapsed  onto the couches. 

“So, I was thinking last night and since Quirrell can’t be after the Stone, he must be protecting it or something right?” Theo  snagged a cupcake, sticking his tongue out at Goyle when the boy gasped in indignation.

Draco immediately let out a long, loud groan. “No more. I have Potions knowledge, Transfiguration spells, Charms movements and, of all things, History of Magic  dates in my head. All easily retained of course, but I am not discussing this ridiculous topic again  and risking filling my  head  with useless thoughts .”

“Alright, alright,” Harry yawned. His eyes drooped, the prolonged exposure to sunshine still making him drowsy.

“Hey, Harry, don’t you  need to get some Transfiguration homework you missed ?” Pansy reminded him with a flick of her hair. Harry sighed. The soft couch cushions were so inviting and com fortable, he wanted to melt into them and almost become one with the couch.

He stood up, stretching as he did, and started for Minnie’s office with a wave goodbye.  He  didn’t know why Sev couldn’t do it for  him,  but no amount of wheedling had convinced the grumpy Head of House to collect his homework for him.

Harry rapped on the door to her office, slipping inside when she called him in. The office was large and surprisingly homey. There was tartan everywhere, to no one’s surprise, and a rather impressive disp lay of crystal scotch bottles. Harry’s  favourite  thing about Minerva’s office however was the large winged-back armchair behind her desk that replaced the usual hardbacked chairs mo st professors had.

“Ah, Harry, welcome,” Minerva said. She opened a few drawers in her desk, shuffling through piles of parchment. “Here for the homework I presume.” She glanced  at him below the brim of her hat.

“Ah, yeah,” Harry  said absent-mindedly as he examined a peculiar landscape painting hanging on the wall. The painting was dark and dreary, with some strange ghost-like figure off in the distance , and Harry wondered why anyone would want to hang that up in their office.

McGonagall walked around her desk to stand by Harry. “Here you are then,” She said as she handed him the homework assignment. Her gaze followed his to the painting. “Ah yes, the  Scottish Moors. A banshee is said to roam them you know.” 

Harry nodded and shoved the parchment into his pocket. “Well, thanks . I’ll be going  now;  I’ve still got a lot of work to do.” 

“Yes, yes, exams are soon.” She smiled at him  slightly. “Oh, Harry, do come for tea with Severus again sometime. I need to lord Gryffindor’s Quidditch victories over him properly in the privacy  of my quarters. A letter just won’t do.” 

He laughed brightly as an image of Severus’ disgruntled face popped into his mind at the idea of it. “I’ll be sure to tell him about tea.” Harry assured her . He turned to go but she called him back before he could step through the open door.

“Oh, and Harry? Miss Granger seems quite happier nowadays than the start of term.  It’s a welcome change of pace. ” 

Harry beamed and left her office with a bounce in his step , her words repeating in his head even as he fell asleep after a particularly grueling study session.

Days past in a similar blur of work and study, work and study. It was never-ending  and all students, except maybe Ravenclaws, were dying.

One evening, Draco of all people stood up and loudly announced to the almost empty common room, “I’ve had enough.”

No one paid attention to him.

The older students had long since gone to bed. They had developed that apathetic attitude toward house exams long ago, and somehow managed to achieve h igh marks without studying themselves to death. Even while sleep-deprived and surviving off caffeine.  It was rather impressive.

Some would take that as a sign that overwhelming study was not needed to get high marks in house exams, but it seemed that the first years were to o  stressed to  realize  that.

All that was left were Blaise and Harry and a few other first years scattered around the room. Draco looked at the two boys  sitting across from him expectantly. He slammed his hands on to  the table .

“I said,” He repeated, “I’ve had enough. It is-” He cast  a quick tempus , “-two o’clock in the morning. I have been studying all day.  I have  _ bags under my eyes. _  I can live without the intricacies of the Goblin War of 1764. THAT ISN’T EVEN ON THE FIRST YEAR COURSE. ”

Harry glanced up at him in bewilderment. He had ink stains on his lip from where he had been chewing on his quill and his eyes were wide and bright in the way only a sleep-deprived student’s eyes could be.

“But you said it could come up as a surprise  question .” He stated. He stood up slowly to match Draco’s stance. “Have I been  memorizing  Commander  Ragnok’s  hour-long battle cry for no reason?” He demanded  menacingly. 

Draco refused to back down and cower away from  Harry,  but he had to admit the boy looked on the verge of either stabbing someone or crying in a corner. And Slytherins didn’t cry  in corners, so the stabbing really was a viable option.

“It could come up as a surprise  question,  but they can’t dock marks for something you haven’t even learned in class yet.  My father will hear about it if they do.” Draco swore.

Harry sat back down  lethargically and stared sadly at the parchment  upon  which he had written out the battle cry. “ Twenty-four  paragraphs.” He whispered regretfully.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Blaise said with a yawn. “I’m going to bed. I’m done.” He gath ered his parchment in his arms haphazardly. “I need fresh air.” He muttered under his breath .

As he walked away, Harry and Draco  began  to close their books and tidy away their papers. “That’s not a bad idea.” Harry admitted. 

“What, fresh air?” Draco asked with a hushed swear as he dropped his ink-well. Black ink splattered  all over his robes and he  tsked  as it dripped onto the floor. 

“Yeah, why not?” Harry said. “We could take the cloak and go out for a walk or something. It’s not raining,” He added as an  afterthought .

After a bit of deliberation, and after the ink had been vanished, Harry ran to grab the Cloak from his trunk. It ’ s be e n a g e s s i n c e t h e M i r r o r , h e r e a s o ne d a s h e r u s h e d  b a c k d o w n s t a i r s , s i l v e r y c l o a k i n ha n d . A w al k w o u l d n ’ t d o a n y h a r m .

Blaise was right about the fresh air. Both Draco and Harry felt  unbelievably  invigorated when they stepped out onto the grounds.  It was refreshingly crisp  outside,  and it felt wonderful to stretch their cramped muscles.

Harry arched his back, groaning when his spine popped. Draco shuddered at the sound. 

“Do you have to do that?” He whispered. His peppermint breath washed over  Harry’s face. Under the cloak they had to stay close together to make sure there wasn’t just a random hip floating in the air as they walked .

“It feels good Dray, and my back was so sore!” Harry complained. 

Draco rolled his eyes. “It’s still horrific, no one’s bones should-what is that?” He broke off, staring towards the forest  in concentration.

Harry scanned the trees but saw nothing. “Uh, it’s the Forest?” He said in confusion. Draco clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes at Harry’s idiocy. 

“Not the Forest, the oaf-Hagrid's shack.” Draco sneered. Harry’s head whipped towards Hagrid’s hut immediately.  A stone dropped in his stomach when he saw dark smoke billowing out from the chimney, but not the normal harmless smoke that usually puffed out of his chimney. No, this was black and omi nous  and struck fear in the hearts of the two boys.

Harry ran out from under the cloak and towards the hut without even thinking. To anyone else it would have looked like he had just appeared out of nowhere.  He raced towards the hut , ignoring Draco who was yelling at him to stop, and banged on the door roughly.

“Hagrid! Hagrid open the door! What’s going on?!” He yelled as he continued to pound on the door. It suddenly  opened  under his fists and he fell forward with a yelp into Hagrid’s beard.

“ Wha ’? Harry!  Wha ’ are ye  doin ’ here? Draco?” Hagrid sounded very  confused,  but Harry was still lost in his beard and couldn’t see his  expression .

“Fire!” Harry gasped  as he stumbled backwards . “The smoke, it was coming out, and then, and I thought, and then you-” He fought for his breath like a drowning person. It came in snatches , elusive like wisps of smoke, almost taunting. Draco hurried to his side and rubbed his back reassuringly. 

“It’s okay, just calm down, focus on my breath.” Draco breathed in and out exaggeratedly in even breaths until Harry managed to  gain control over his breathing again. Hagrid ushered them in to his hut worriedly.

“Blimey,  wasn ’ expecting this.” He muttered as he rushed to make tea. Draco sat  a shaking  Harry down on the couch.  He searched his friend’s face to make sure he was okay, only moving away from him when the trembling in Harry’s hands lessened and he was breathing normally.

Draco turned around to grab Harry’s tea for him when he staggered backwards in shock, falling onto Harry  who shoved him off with a groan.

Draco stared in horror at the scaly creature sitting innocently on Hagrid’s dining table beside a smoking pile of singed hair.  “HAGRID WHY DO YOU HAVE A DRAGON?!” He shrieked loudly. Harry froze and stared at the baby dragon with an open mouth.

He’d never seen a dragon before. Its scales were shiny and a strange mix of black an d red. The  colours  seemed to shift into each other, forming a  mesmerizing  dark shimmer on the scales. Its wings were too big for its body and i t chirped as it started to totter around the table, knocking things over with its tail, its claws gouging into the wood as if it  were sand. 

Hagrid set the mugs down sheepishly  and i t was only then that Harry noticed the irregularity of his beard. “Did it burn your beard?!” Harry exclaimed  in astonishment.

Hagrid ran his fingers through his wiry beard self-consciously . “Well, Norbert  hiccupped  and sent a little fireball into the fire. It caught me beard on the way , ” He chuckled.  Fang perked up in the corner where he was cowering away from Norbert at Hagrid’s laugh before whining and putting his head down again.

Draco gaped at him. “A little fireball? Caught your beard? Norbert?! That’s what the smoke was? Harry thought you were dying or something! And Norbert?!  Fluffy is tame compared to this. A dragon. It’s a baby dragon. You have a dragon.” He repeated. 

“I just wanted to go to school.” He said with a shake of his head. “Can’t our lives be norma l ? I just want to do my homework. And now we have magical stones, three headed dogs and dragons.”

Draco continued to mutter  to himself,  but no one was listening to him. Harry was examining the dragon in curiosity . Norbert trilled and bumped his head against Harry’s elbow. “Wo w, ” Harry gasped.

“Isn’t he a  beaut ?” Hagrid asked fondly. He petted Norbert’s head and  cooed softly at the little creature. “He just needed a home  eh?  I got the egg off a fella I met down the pub.”

“ Your  house is made of wood!” Draco shrieked. “You can’t just keep a dragon in here! What happens when he grows?” He stared at the  both of them , hoping they weren’t stupid enou gh to think taking care of a dragon was a good idea.

Harry, thank Merlin, was obviously doubting Hagrid ’s idea despite Norbert’s cuteness. “He’s right Hagrid,” Harry sighed heavily.  “Does anyone even know Norbert is here?”

Hagrid shuffled awkwardly on the spot as Norbert climbed up his arm. “Well, no one’s supposed te’ know , ” He said  evasively . Small spots of blood  appeared  where  Norbert’s claws dug into him.  “They’d take him away. And I’m his mum. He doesn’t have anyone else.”

Harry bit his lip. “It’s incredibly dangerous. And it can’t be good for Norbert either. I don’t know much  about  dragons,  but I’d say they  aren’t supposed to be cooped up in cabins. ”  Norbert butted his head affectionately against Hagrid’s face and hiccupped, a small burst of flame singing Hagrid’s beard again.

The groundskeeper patted the flames out hurriedly.  A scuffling outside and the  hooting  of an owl stopped the boys from commenting on the incident  and made them all  realize  how late it was . Hagrid threw his eyes around his cabin  des p er ately.

“Jus’, jus’ let me figure it out  alrigh ’?” He pleaded. Draco opened his mouth to argue but was silenced by Harry’s glance.

“You’ll need to make a decision quickly.” Harry warned him . “I’m serious Hagrid.”

Hagrid waved him off and Harry’s lips pursed at the dismissive  gesture,  but he decided to let it go  when he noticed Hagrid’s teary-eyed gaze. “We should go Harry, it’s way too late to be out.” Draco told him quietly.

Harry nodded and they quickly wrapped up the  impromptu  tea session. Hagrid waved them away as he usually did, his hulking body only a shadowy figure in the dar k with Norbert perched on his shoulder.

“I can’t believe he has a dragon.” Draco muttered as they hurried back to the castle.  He shook his head. “This is ridiculous.”

“You can’t tell Severus.” Harry told him  quickly . Draco stared at him  disbelievingly. He slowed down until they came to a stop in the middle of the corridor.

“Harry, this is dangerous and very  illegal .  A dragon is serious business. The Ministry could be called in. And if it gets out that we knew about it  and never said or did anything , we could be called out and we could be tried as accomplices. ” Draco said gravely. 

Harry gasped. He knew it was bad, but a crime was different. His  loyalty to Hagrid, someone he considered his friend, warred with his desire to do the right thing. He felt  helpless .

“Can we just give him a few days to do the right thing and then we’ll tell someone. ” He asked. “Please?”

Draco sighed angrily. He wasn’t angry at  Harry,  but the situation was less than ideal. He sighed again and groaned. “Three days.” He  a llowed .

Harry squeezed his arm gratefully. “Thank you.” He smiled. Draco rolled his eyes but smiled back tightly.

Their moment was broken by the sound of heels clicking. Clicking angrily.

“Mr. Potter! Mr. Malfoy!” McGonagall’s livid voice travelled down the  corridor  before she appeared around the corner , Ron Weasley in tow. Her tartan dressing gown trailed on the floor and her hat was askew on her head as if she had put it on in a hurry.

She towered over the boys angrily with her hands on her hips. It was then that Harry and Draco  realized that in their haste to get back to the dorms,  they had left the Invisibility Cloak at Hagrid’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and I hope you liked this update! Also, 11 019 hits? Are you serious? That's amazing! Thank you all so much for the hits, all the comments, all the kudos, it's just so ridiculous (In a good way!) and I can't believe it. Thank you all so much and I love you all and just gah, it's amazing, eventhe ones who don't comment or anything I don't love you any less because of it! So thank you.  
> We're almost at the end here! Less than five chapters left till the end of this fic. I have ideas for a Marauders fic after this, like a school one focusing on their years at Hogwarts, and of course Chamber of Secrets Slytherin Style and one where the HP characters are adults and Harry's a professor and all. So, yeah, many ideas.   
> Tell me what you might like to see next in a fic, if you even want to read my stuff after this is over.  
> Again, thanks for reading and see you all next time!  
> Oh also, how's the pacing in this? I wanted to put in my usual asterisks somewhere but I don't know, it all felt weird when I did, and oddly paced but without them I feel strange. Let me know if you can!


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello, sorry this is a tad late. It's only 5k but this seems so much longer than the other chapters! Maybe because of all the stuff going on in it. Who knows? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this update!

“Finally, Ms. Norris my sweet. They’re finally getting what they deserve!” Filch cackled with a sideways glance at Harry, Ron, Draco and Neville.  Ms. Norris meowed in agreement and curled around his twig-like ankles. “Pesky little students. Shouldn’t even be here.” He a dded under his breath.

“It’s a school. You work at a school. Students are a given!” Ron snapped irritably. 

All four of them were being led by Filch across the grounds to wherever their p unishment was lying in wait. It was almost pitch black. Only the weak rays of the moon and the small lantern that swu ng in  Filch’s  gnarled grasp lit up the dark grass. Lit was an exaggeration. The boys could barely see their own feet.

 They were heading down to attend detention that had been given to them by a very angry McGonagall.  Harry shuddered as he relived the experience  of her powerful fury .

******

“Mr. Potter! Mr. Malfoy!” McGonagall’s livid voice travelled down the corridor before she appeared around the corner, Ron  Weasley  in tow. Her tartan dressing gown trailed on the floor and her hat was askew on her head as if she had put it on in a hurry.

She towered over the boys angrily with her hands on her hips. It was then that Harry and Draco realized that in their haste to get back to the dorms, they had left the Invisibility Cloak at  Hagrid’s .  They glanced at each other in mild horror.

Behind McGonagall, Ron  Weasley  was smirking at them. Draco had never been prone to resorting to crude muggle violence but the urge to punch that stupid smirk off Ron’s freck led face was strong. 

“To my office.  _ Now _ .” She ordered. She spun on her heel, marching back the way she came without another word. Wisely, Draco and Harry scurried after her with no argument.  The angry clicking of her heels and her short puffs of breath were the only noises made on the short journey to her office.

The silence was suffocating. As she sat down and surveyed them with the angriest  glare  she had ever fixed upon them, Harry was still berating himself . He couldn’t believe they had been stupid enough to leave the Cloak in  Hagrid’s  hut.

“Students roaming the grounds at night is explicitly against school rules. It is reckless, foolhardy and downright stupid. Detention, all three of you.” She decided swiftly.  Ron’s triumphant laugh was cut off almost immediately by shocked spluttering.

“I’m sorry Professor.” He said ,  teeter ing  forward towards her desk. “The three of us?” He stared at her incredulously and  she returned his stare with one filled with  unforgiving steel. 

“Yes, Mr.  Weasley , the three of you. While your intentions were certainly well-meaning ,  nothing,  I repeat,  _ nothing _ , gives a student the right to wander about after hours. You will serve your detention now seeing as you all love to spend your nights awake.”

Ron let out a groan and McGonagall pierced him with a glare that had him pretending to clear his throat  timidly. Before she could say anymore, the door slammed open and Neville  Longbottom  fell to the floor with an almighty clatter.  His blond hair was stuck to his sweaty forehead as if he had run all the way to her office.

He shook his head furiously and got up, tottering slightly. “Professor! Ron’s going to kill Draco and Harry or something and I’m not letting him lose any more points for G ryffindor because of another fight but I got lost. They’re probably disfigured or missing a limb or something at this stage, Oh God, WHAT IF THEY’RE DEAD? !”

Neville finally noticed Harry and Draco standing beside him, perfectly safe and unharmed .  Albeit in serious trouble.  Ron cursed under his breath. “Oh.”  Neville uttered. 

McGonagall looked like she was about to combust. “Detention all four of you and fifty points from each of you! Not a word Mr.  Weasley . Not. A. Word.”

*********

Harry glanced over at Neville pityingly as the poor boy stumbled over a protruding tree root.  He didn’t deserve this, he thought.  Neville looked miserable, his shoulders hunched, his lips downturned and trembling.

 The loss of 100 house points wasn’t going to get him any love from his fellow House-mates . It wasn’t going to get Harry or Draco any love either  but a t least  Slytherin was still in the lead with House points.

The boys squinted against a bright light that flooded their view as they approached  Hagrid’s  hut.  Hagrid  stood beside his pumpkin patch holding a massive lantern that  put  Filch’s  to shame. A crossbow was slung over his shoulder and it glinted  maliciously  in the golden light, promising danger .

Harry couldn’t help feeling buoyed  though . Detention s erved with  Hagrid  was a definite improvement over detention with Filch.

“Here they are.” Filch crowed.  He grinned toothily at the students who recoiled at the sight of his rotted teeth . “Enjoy the Forest.  Nasty little creatures in there. Love to bite they do.”

Harry gasped and Draco whirled around to face  Hagrid . “The Forest? You ’re not bringing us in there are you? There’re werewolves in there!”  He said with a hint of panic in his voice.

N eville burst into despairing  tears, clutching his head in his hands and moaning slightly  while  Ron grew disturbingly silent  and turned  an alarming shade of green  that  brought out his freckles .

Hagrid  glared at Filch stoically.  “Now there was no need for  tha ’!” He gave out. Filch merely rubbed his hands together gleefully, over-joyed at the possibility of their imminent deaths.

“I’ll get the caskets ready.” He declared over his shoulder as he hobbled back towards the castle with Ms. Norris. Draco clutched Harry’s arm tightly  as he broke out into a sweat and Neville sobbed harder into his hands. 

Hagrid  patted his shoulder reassuringly, sending him a few centimeters down into the mud of the garden. “Now  now , it’ll be  alrigh ’. We’re not going too  far in. See this?” He held up wh at seemed to be a small potions bottle filled with molten silver. “That’s unicorn blood, that is.  Sum mat’s  been hurting the unicorns and I ne ed to find out what.”

Draco shook his head adamantly. “I’m not going into there.” He nodded towards the darkness pooling at the edges of the Forest. “No way.” He said.

“ Yeh  are and that’s the end of it.  Yeh’ve  done wrong and  yeh’ve  got to fix it.”  Hagrid  said fiercely.  He hoisted the crossbow over his shoulder and whistled sharply. Fang came bounding out of the hut joyously with his tongue lolling out of his mouth. He  immediately  sat on Draco’s feet and gazed up at him lovingly.

It took a few minutes, but all four boys eventually made into the Forest.  Hagrid  led the small pack, Neville sticking to him like a limpet  with Ron not far behind, and Fang bringing up the rear.

The Forest was dark and terrifying ly silent .  The t rees were so tall that t heir leaves couldn’t be discerned  because the overly large trunks  disappeared into the hanging darkness overhead. The only source of light was  the lantern  swinging in  Hagrid’s  hand and the  small balls of light that glowed at the tip of each boy’s wand.  The low light made the  shadows twist and writhe around them , made them come alive and become monsters in each boy's mind.

They delved deeper and deeper into the belly of the beast  until a  branch snapped beside them, and bushes rustled in front of them,  inducing  a heart attack in Draco and Neville.  Hagrid  drew his  crossbow and  watched their surroundings carefully.

“There’s  summat  unnatural in here.”  Hagrid  muttered. They waited, frozen, before continuing when nothing happened. 

“This is all your fault!” Ron exploded. He gestured angrily at Harry. 

“My fault? You’re the one who went running to McGonagall!” Harry exclaimed. Ron bristled and his brow furrowed as their usual bickering began.    


“And?” He demanded loudly. “So what? You’re the one who just, just appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the grounds!” 

“You were watching us?!” Draco asked in disgust  with raised eyebrows . Harry glared at R on who  grew even more flustered.

“No!” Ron snapped. “I was getting a drink of water and you-” He gestured wildly at Harry, “-Just popped out of  nowhere !”

Harry remembered the moment he ran out from under the Cloak with an internal groan. Tonight was not his night. “You’re imagining things.” Draco told  Ron unceremoniously.

“How dare you! I’m not crazy mate, and you can’t-”

“Stop! Please!” Neville interrupted Ron. He was wringing his hands together, tears shimmering in his red-rimmed eyes. “We’re in a dangerous Forest, with ma n-eating creatures and you’re being really loud, and I can’t take it!” His voice grew  shriller  towards the end of his outburst. 

Harry bit his lip apologetically .  “Whatever , ”  Draco huffed. He  rolled his eyes pompously and hurried to catch up with  Hagrid . 

“Sorry.” Harry offered  to Neville  before he raced after Draco.  Being so caught up in the argument, they had all stopped walking and none of them had any desire to get lost in the Forest.

Hagrid  had stopped a  little way  ahead of him and Harry’s mouth dropped when he sa w what the large man was doing. In front of  Hagrid  stood a centaur. Half horse, half man with a shining  chestnut coat and red hair with a beard. He had a long reddish tail and nodded towards Harry graciously.

“Were you going to shoot me  Hagrid ?” The centaur asked. His voice was deep and sorrowful. It befitted such a majestic creature. Harry was slightly intimidat ed.

“Sorry Ronan.”  Hagrid  said as he hefted his crossbow back onto his shoulder. “ Summat’s  been hurting the unicorns. Never known one to be killed before so whatever it is, it’s dangerous. Here, you haven’t seen anything have you ?”

Ronan gazed skyward as if he could see anything beyond the dense canopy. “Mars is b right tonight.” he said cryptically.  Hagrid  stared at him silently. “Right. Yeah. Well. What about the unicorns?” He asked again. 

“ Woah .” Ron gasped as he jogged up to them. His gaze was fixed upon Ronan in awe. Ronan nodded at Ron too, his tail flicking idly. 

“Hello young human. You are students, yes?” Ronan asked with intrigue  colouring  his  sombre  tone. Ron nodded speechlessly. “ A nd do you learn much up at Hogwarts  School for Witchcraft and Wizardry? ” Ronan continued. 

“A bit I guess...” Ron said uncertainly. Ronan sighed deeply and stretched his arms up above his head. 

“A bit. That’s something.” He mumbled.  As he spoke ,  another centaur appeared out  of the brush and joined Ronan. 

“Bane.”  Hagrid  gre eted. Bane didn’t nod. Opposite to Ronan’s  sad yet amicable  personality, he gazed at them all in slight disdain.  His coat was a deep black that matched his hair  and he seemed wilder, more  unpredictable.

“Good evening  Hagrid .” Bane addressed only him. 

Hagrid ran a hand through his beard and  sighed.  “Do  yeh  know anything about what’s  hurtin  the unicorns?” He asked  hopefully.

Like Ronan, Bane answered by not answering the question. “Mars is bright tonight.” He said, echoing Ronan.  Ronan nodded sagely beside him.  Hagrid  held in a groan. “ Anythin  else?”  Hagrid  tried again although he didn’t seem to be hoping for anything.

Bane’s tail flicked in annoyance, but his face remained passive. Ronan’s features pinched slightly in what seemed to be pain. “Mars is bright tonight.” Ronan r epeated tensely.

“Does that mean conflict is going to happen?” Draco asked suddenly. Everyone turned to stare at  him, and Ronan sighed in relief. With all the attention on him, Draco stood up straighter and basked  in Bane’s taken aback yet mildly impressed expression.

Harry shook his head at his peacock of a friend. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, astronomy and mythology of c ourse . Mars  is the Roman god of war. He was the son of Jupiter  and the most prominent of the military gods in the eyes of the Roman army. He was also an agricultural  guardian,  but I  doubt that has any impact upon our situation, despite being in a forest.”  Malfoy stated all  of this in a  tone of voice that clearly implied that they were lesser beings than him for not knowing this knowledge.

“I approve of this human.” Bane announced into the stunned silence. 

Hagrid  shook his head and frowned. “ Righ ’ well, that’s not good but it doesn’t help us in finding what’s  hurtin  the unicorn.”

Draco gaped in indignation and Bane sighed. “Good luck on your journey.”  The imposing centaur  said. He disappeared back where he came from, melt ing into the night, and Ronan swiftly followed him.  Hagrid  turned to them all and clapped his hands.

“Centaurs for  yeh . Well-meaning, but the riddles don’t help anything.” He ignored Draco’s  splutterings  and glanced around them at where the path split . “Let’s split up.” He announced.

“Nope.” Ron immediately declared. He shook his head, rooting himself to the spot. Neville nodded furiously in agreement with Ron. 

“As much as I hate to side with  Weaslebee  over here, I’m against that plan too. Sending students off alone in the Forbidden Forest is hardly a good idea.” Draco a rgued. 

Hagrid  waved off his fears with one large hand, narrowly missing Harry’s head with the lantern. “Nonsense!” He boomed. “It’ll be easier  te h  find the unicorn  tha  way. Just don’t go off the path. And follow the blood!”

With great reluctance, Harry, Ron and Fang were grouped together while Neville and Draco went with  Hagrid , and more importantly, the crossbow.  The two watched their retreating backs with something akin to terror. 

“This is ridiculous.” Ron muttered as they tramped  along  the barely visible path. Thorns and overgrown bushes made it incredibly hard to get through and they kept nicking their hands painf ully. 

“Yeah.” Harry agreed absent-mindedly. His mind was elsewhere trying to make a note of landmarks or something  memorable in case they got lost. Which was highly likely, he thought as he stepped delicately over something slithering along the forest floor.

“Don’t talk to me, weirdo.” Ron snarled quickly. He glared at Harry, ba rely missing a hanging vine laden with spikes.

“ Oh  come on, we’re surrounded by dangerous  _ everything  _ and you’re keeping this up? ” Harry asked scathingly as he wrestled his way through a bush. “What did I even do to you?” His foot caught on a root and he grunted in frustration as he tried to yank it out .

Ron stopped walking. He slammed his hands onto his hips, which were slowly being taken over by  wild shrubbery.  “ You’re a weirdo! You’re a freak!”  He spat . “You freak out at the littlest things!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Harry yelled. 

“Your bloody great freak out at the start of the year you prat !” Ron yelled back.

Harry stopped trying to yank his foot out of the clutches of the tree root. He stared at Ron who was bright red and breathing heavily, his features twisted in anger. “Are you talking about the  _ panic attack  _ I had  before school even started?” __ Harry asked slowly.

“The what?” Ron asked idiotically. The shrubbery was at his waist. 

“The panic  attack .” Harry enunciated clearly. He yanked his foot free calmly. “The anxiety attack caused by the ridiculous  amount of noise being made by your very large family who I didn’t even know was coming. 

Ron’s face became an even deeper shade of red and he scratched his cheek awkwardly. “Oh.”

“You’ve been trying to make my school life miserable and hated me even before I was a  Slytherin  because I  _ had a  _ _ panic attack?!” _ __ Harry pinched the bridge of his nose to stop himself from killing the red head.

“Ah well-” 

“Shut up.” Harry ordered.

Ron frowned at him. “Excuse me, I am trying to-”

“Shut up!” Harry hissed. “Look at that.” He drew Ron’s attention to a very large pool of silvery blood that shined even in the gloomy recesses of the  forest. “The unicorn must be close.”

“We should get  Hagrid .” Ron decided. 

“For once you’re right.” Harry told him. He glanced down at the shrub that now reached Ron’s elbows. “Get out of that bloody bush, it’s probably trying to eat you alive.” He sighed.

“Right, let’s go.” Ron detangled himself from the vegetation and stared at Harry expectantly. “Well? Let’s go.” He repeated.

“What are you looking at me for? Just follow the path.  Hold on.  Where’s the path?” Harry stared at the mossy ground in  horror. “THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T START ARGUMENTS WHILE IN A DANGEROUS, OVERGROWN FOREST AND ON A PATH THAT BARELY EXISTS AS IT IS!”

Above them, a flock of birds took flight and tweeted in agitation at the loud noise. Fang b arked loudly and jumped around, trying to snap at the birds with his teeth. “Fang!” Ron exclaimed in delight. “He can lead us back to  Hagrid .” 

Both boys stared at the dog they had previously forgotten about as he still tried to catch the birds that were long-gone. 

“Or not.” Ron said.  Harry groaned and leaned against a nearby tree-trunk despondently, closing his eyes as if that would make the path reappear. “Hold on, ” said Ron slowly, “I think I see something.”

“Unless it’s  Hagrid , it’s probably going to eat you.” Harry replied. “Alright, this is fine. It’s fine. We just need to turn right around, do a full 180 and walk back the way we came  in a straight line  until we reach the path  again . I remember a rock that looks like a possum being the last landmark I made a note of so  when we walk, we’ll find the possum rock, and when we find the possum rock, we’ll find the path and we’ll be fine .”

Harry opened his eyes just in time to catch sight of Ron disappearing around a tree. “Or we can run off towards the thing that will probably eat us. Merlin’s beard, is this what all Gryffindor’s are like?”  He quickly followed Ron ,  Fang chas ing  after him with a bark.

Realistically, whatev er dangerous creature he was heading towards would eat Ron and then come after him. Because the creature was  closer  to him than  Hagrid  was, it was highly likely that it would reach him b efore he could reach  Hagrid .

Therefore, it was better for him to go after Ron because Harry’s chances of survival facing the creature with Ron were better than  if he were to go off into the Forest with only Fang, who was a notorious coward. At least if they faced off against the creature, they could devise some sort of plan and  fight. Two against one  was  better than one against one.

Harry rubbed his forehead as it started to prickle. “These plants.” Harry grumbled. “I bet most of them are poisonous to humans.” He burst  out of a bush only to crash into Ron and go tumbling to the floor in a tangle of limbs , Fang falling over the mess of humans .

“Oy!” Ron cried. “Watch where you’re going!” He shoved  Harry away and scrambled up off the ground.

“Well then don’t run off.” Harry retorted as he too stood up, brushing the dirt off his grass stained  pajama  bottoms. A sudden jolt of pain lashed through  his head and he hissed in pain, clasping his head with his hand. 

“Did you hit your head?” Ron asked with reluctant concern.  His hand hovered hesitantly over Harry’s hunched form. 

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Harry stood up. “I’m fine, it’s just a headache.”

“ Hell  of a time to get one.” Ron  said with an attempt at a joking smile. It didn’t work and he coughed nervously. 

“You’re telling me.” Harry muttered. He looked around but couldn’t see anything that could be classified as a creature. “What did you say you saw?” 

Ron gestured for him to follow and began to walk over to a copse of trees. “It was this dark shadowy figure. I don’t  actually know  what it was. But if it’s another person, they can help us.”  At first glance, the small clearing was empty.

Impossibly wide tree trunks created a circular clearing. Gnarled roots rose above  the  ground, almost classified as trees  themselves  they were that big, and there  were several dark pockets under them that could easily have hidden an injured animal, or dangerous person.

Ron elbowed Harry painfully to grab his attention. When Harry glared at him, he motioned towards a large  grouping of roots that twisted together and inter-twined to create a particularly dark ,  cave-like  arch .

As Harry’s eyesight adjusted to the gloom, he noticed a  hoof and a delicate pearly unicorn leg  protruding from  under the arch . Ron and he shared a glance filled with meaning.

“Unicorn.” Ron mouthed. Harry nodded and they walked quietly over to the  roots .  As they grew closer, Harry’s headache grew stronger and more painful.  They rounded the tree quietly and Harry had to stifle a groan against the pain. 

His head burned. It no longer prickled, it burned him alive, splitting his head open and making him gasp . Ron turned to him only to see Harry bent double and clutching onto the tree to stop himself from falling over.  “What’s wrong?” He asked worriedly.

Harry’s face spooked him. It was deathly pale and covered in a light sheen of sweat that made him look like he was on Death’s door. “I don’t know.” Harry grun ted. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.  The pain  was a lance spearing through his head  over and over again .

Fang whimpered and began to whine. Ron turned around, split between the dog and Harry. “Fang, not now!” He hissed.  He whirled back around to  Harry,  but Fang latched onto his robes and started tugging. “Fang, no! Stop it!” Ron  yelled.

Harry sighed aggravatedly and ignored the tinges of panic leeching into him. He forced his eyes open and stood up straight er , staggering slightly. “Come on, we need to find the uni corn and then get the hell out of here.” 

He gripped his wand tighter and, using the tree as a crutch, made his way around the last of the trunk. The unicorn came into view . The glorious and magnificent creature was on the ground, twitching feebly,  its silvery blood pooling underneath it horrifically. It was wrong. This pure being reduced to bleeding out on t he forest floor helplessly. 

Over the unicorn, Ron’s shadowy figure was crouched.  Definitely humanoid , a  heavy , rough,  dark  cloak covered its  stooped body, a  hood covering its face as it lay over the  unicorn. “Hey, you!” Ron called out to it, bristling in indignation. “What  are you doing?”

If Harry had the strength to face palm, he would have.

Ron’s yelling caused the figure to turn around  swiftly. Only a skeletal chin could be seen jutting out from under the large hood. Silvery unicorn blood trailed down it in a thick stream, the  mercurial  liquid dripping onto the hem of the cloak.

The sight drove terror into the  boys.  The monster  made  towards the m and Fang bolted with a high-pitched howl. Ron ran after the dog, calling after him , leaving Harry alone with the advancing deathly figure.

Harry was on fire. His forehead, his entire body, had been taken over by the burning of his scar and he collapsed against the tree, scrambling ba ck against the coarse roots as far away from the creature as he could get. 

With a delighted inhuman groan, the monster reached out for him revealing a trembling bony hand  and Harry braced himself. But the hand never touched him.  The sound of galloping thundered in Harry’s ears and  a blurred figure jumped clean over him, charging at the horror and driving him off.

Harry fell to his  hands and  knees as the pain in his forehead spiked  before disappearing completely. It  took a minute for him to regain his senses. When he did look up , a centaur stood before him.

It wasn’t Bane or Ronan; He had white-blond hair, reminiscent of Draco’s but slightly darker, and a palomino body. “Are you alright?”  The centaur asked as he stooped and held out a hand for Harry to grasp.

“ Thanks.  What was that?” Harry demanded. He scanned the surrounding trees, not trusting it to be gone completely. If it could kill a unicorn, it could kill a centaur.

“That,” Firenze sighed, “Was a dark creature, an abomination.” He stared at the slayed unicorn in sorrow. “We must get you back to the others. It is  gone for now, but it will come back. Are you well enough to  ride? It will be faster this way.”

As Harry clambered up onto the centaur’s back, a distant galloping could be  heard,  and Bane burst out of the bushes. Ronan followed close behind him.

“Firenze!” He thundered. “What is the meaning of this?”  He paced angrily as if he was so  offended  he couldn’t physically keep still. “Have you no shame?!”

Firenze huffed. “Bane-”

“Letting a human  ride  you?! And this human at that? We do not meddle in the affairs of the humans Firenze.” Bane warned. 

“This  is  the Potter boy! The sooner he leaves this Forest, the better, for everyone!” Firenze argued. Ronan pawed anxiously at the ground. He was unwilling to get himself in the middle of th e argument.

“What have you told him?” Bane demanded. His eyes narrowed and the atmosphere grew colder, the shadows growing along the  tree line . “ We are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens ,  Firenze. Remember that.  You know what is to come. You know what the planets are saying. Do not concern yours elf with this.”

“I concern myself with what is lurking in this Forest, Bane. Did you not see the unicorn? Do you not know what that means? Or have the heavens kept that from you?” Firenze asked scathingly.

Bane reared up in anger. “I’m sure he means well...” Ronan said hesitantly. 

“No matter.” Bane snapped. “We are not some common mules, donkeys, existing to do human bidding. We are the prophets of the cosmos and we-”

“ Oh,  be quiet.” Firenze cut across him and with that, turned on his heel and left. Harry felt extremely awkward. He felt like  how  one would  feel if they witnessed their best friend having a fight with their parents.

“ Er , what did Bane mean?” He asked cautiously. Firenze sighed and slowed to a stop. 

“Do you know what it means to slay a unicorn,  Harry  Potter?” He asked. When Harry shook his head, he gazed  solemnly  at the sky and closed his eyes. “To kill such a pure and  defenseless  creature, that is a monstrous crime.”

He took off in a slow walk and warned him to watch o ut  for spiky vines. “Drinking the blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death. But the moment it touches your lips, you are cursed. You are cursed to have a  half-life .”

Harry recoiled in horror, holding on quickly to stop himself from falling. “But who would choose to live like that?” He asked. The answer was already forming in his  mind,  but he refused to believe it.

Firenze looked back at him. “Can you think of no one?” 

 As Harry’s stomach filled with dread, t he bushes rustled ahead of them. Out from the leaves rushed Hagrid and their merry band of men. “Harry!” Draco shrieked. “Merlin’s saggy pants, I thought you were dead. ”

Ron and Neville came up to him as he slid  off  Firenze’s back. “This is where I leave you Harry Potter.” He said gent ly. “Remember what I told you.  Unicorn blood is useful, but only if there is  something close at hand that will bring you back to full strength. Only if there is something worth condemning yourself for.”

He nodded to Hagrid  and turned to tell Harry one last thing before he left . “Good luck. The planets have been read wrongly before, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times.”

When he left, Hagrid crushed Harry in a hug. “Thank Merlin  yeh’re alrigh . When Ron came back to get us, I didn’t think we’d reach  yeh  in time!” 

“Thanks Hagrid. The unicorn is back there. In the clearing.” Harry told him. Hagrid rushed off  behind  them and Harry looked at Ron. “Thanks.” He said. Ron flushed red and nodded jerkily, striding off after Hagrid with Neville in tow. 

Draco crashed into Harry as soon as they were gone, squeezing him so tight Harry was sure his skeleton was shattered.  “Don’t be such a Gryffindor!” He scolded. “Facing off a dangerous creature like that!”

“I was kind of  immobilized  by pain.” Harry commented wryly, hugging him back. Draco kicked his shin in retaliation. 

“Doesn’t matter.” Draco said. He let Harry go and glared at him. “With you dead, I’d have to deal with Granger on my own, and that’s not happening.”

Harry laughed but his expression quickly became grave as the dread that lurked in his stomach grabbed his heart with an iron fist. “Dray. I know who’s after the Stone. And you’re not going to like it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed this one. What did we think of the flashback? Something new, I didn't mind it and then literally a day after I wrote it, I saw a post on Pinterest about how flashbacks are terrible and cliched and I just went whoops. XD 
> 
> So, I've started planning Chamber of Secrets Slytherin Style, working out the kinks in the plot and timelines and what I want to happen and everything. I'm gonna plan a Marauders fic too, but that will probably come later after CoS because I need to do much more research on that.
> 
> What else do I want to say? I think that's it. Thanks again for reading, please comment and kudos and I'll see you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> It was supposed to be even longer. I had to cut it! But I guess that means that chapter two will be uploaded quicker.
> 
> I know I announced this fic months ago, but I really had no motivation or inspiration to write or upload this. Now I do, although uploads will more than likely be slow as I get back into the swing of things.
> 
> I have ten chapters planned already and am finishing chapter three which is probably gonna end up being chapter four or five seeing as I had to cut this one, and chapter three is waaaay longer than this one haha.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, thank you for reading! I will try to get the next one out as soon as possible!


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